ALDOT projects moving along

While projects involving federal funds and the Alabama Department of Transportation are known for moving slowly, Vestavia Hills City Manager Jeff Downes said the two most recent of these projects in the city are moving forward.

Massey Road

The city is still in the process of acquiring right-of-way for this project, which will see sidewalks installed along the entirety of the road, a drainage improvement project on the Columbiana Road side of Massey, curb and gutter work, the installation of a stormwater pipe and a slight road widening, along with slope stabilization and resurfacing.

Design work is finished, and the city is working with the remaining six property owners along the road who have not yet agreed to provide access to their right-of-way for the project, Downes said.

Each property owner is different, and the city has brought in a third-party consultant to help in the process, he said.

“Everybody has some level of support,” Downes said.

Property owners have concerns ranging from the location of the project, relative to their driveways, to the lost land value they’ll incur from the project, he said.

The city must use ALDOT’s process for the work.

Downes said he cannot predict what will happen and when with the project, which first began in 2012.

Pedestrian Bridge

Following the rejection of the first proposed bid for this project, the pedestrian bridge linking the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest to Wald Park is being redesigned.

The original type of bridge proposed was not feasible, according to contractors, Downes said, and the project will have to be rebid. The project first came up in the mid-2000s, he said.

The project had a “unique” design of being a single-span bridge over U.S. 31, but years later, it was determined the city needed a more “traditional” type of bridge, Downes said.

Downes said he does not know the timetable for that project.