As the calendar flips into 2025, there are many things to watch in Vestavia Hills. To kick off the new year, we’re highlighting five things worth attention in the new year, including a new pedestrian bridge over U.S. 31.
The plan to build a pedestrian bridge over U.S. 31 at Wald Park has been in the works for a long time, Vestavia Hills mayor Ashley Curry said.
“It’s been a 20-year dream to see that come to fruition, and I think we’re close,” he said.
The Alabama Department of Transportation, which controls U.S. 31, gave permission to proceed in May, and utility relocation began soon thereafter.
Construction workers have been building the concrete bases for the bridge on both sides of the highway, and following that will come the tower on the east side of U.S. 31 that will include a stairwell and elevator.
“They’re working diligently and consistently to prepare for what is the ultimate big task, which is to lay the prefabricated bridge structure itself across 31,” City Manager Jeff Downes said.
The anticipated completion date is summer 2025, but that depends on delivery of the steel spans that will go across the highway, Downes said. There will be two steel spans covering 177 feet in total.
Workers also have built a new sidewalk along U.S. 31 and a stairway to the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest, Downes said.
Curry said Wald Park and the library are two of the most-visited places in the city, and “it just makes sense we would have walkability between those two.”
Check out the rest of the articles in our 5 Changes for 2025 series here.
