ALDOT still reviewing Cahaba Beach Road project

The Alabama Department of Transportation is still reviewing its options for the controversial Cahaba Beach Road project, after holding its last public meeting in August 2018.

ALDOT’s East Central Region engineer DeJarvis Leonard said there’s no update as of early February. Leonard did not return a call in mid-April for an update.

The project would build a bridge and road over the Little Cahaba River, connecting U.S. 280 to Sicard Hollow Road in Liberty Park. Options 5 and 5-B, both previously submitted to the public, are still on the table, as is the option not to build the road and bridge.

The road and bridge re-connecting the two roads would be two-lane controlled access roads, prohibiting development, Leonard said. The project is needed, he said, to increase connectivity, not to alleviate traffic concerns on U.S. 280 as many have assumed. The estimated cost is between $12 to $15 million, Leonard previously said.

“We’re constantly looking at traffic patterns,” Leonard said.

Birmingham Water Works owns the land near the road and bridge, and the river is the source for much of the greater Birmingham area’s drinking water. Attempts to reach BWW spokesperson Rick Jackson for comment were unsuccessful.

Cahaba Riverkeeper David Butler said it’s “really sad” that the board, which is affected more than any other entity by ALDOT’s decision, hasn’t come out and opposed the project.

Leonard said he’s confident the organization will be “environmentally friendly,” though several organizations have expressed concern about the project’s environmental impact, in addition to traffic concerns in Liberty Park.

Beth Stewart, executive director of the Cahaba River Society, said their interest is now having Birmingham Water Works show how it’s going to protect the land. The society presented a resolution to the board in 2018, Stewart said, but it was never placed on the agenda.

This is the first project the society has opposed in 15 years, Stewart said, because the runoff from construction and the number of cars on the road each day could affect the quality of drinking water, as well as area wildlife.

Stewart said the project is “just not worth it.”

“The reason [the land] hasn’t been developed is the Birmingham Water Works Board had the foresight to buy a lot of this property and protect our source of drinking water,” Butler previously said. “... It frustrates the purpose of all this protection.”

“It just seems so short sighted,” said Rob Rogers with Deep South Outfitters. “We’re funding a diminished quality of water. They just need to leave the drinking water alone.”

Butler previously said he doesn’t believe ALDOT has done enough to study the environmental impact, including the effect the construction could have on threatened wildlife, in addition to water quality concerns.

Randy Haddock, field director for the Cahaba River Society, previously said the threats to the river are “not insignificant” and the road doesn’t have to be built to increase connectivity.

“The stated justification for the road is to increase connectivity,” Haddock said. “Any road built anywhere will increase connectivity. They’re not clearly articulating a need for this road.”

The city of Birmingham passed a resolution in November opposing the project outright, and the city of Vestavia Hills passed a resolution in December opposing the proposed options. Vestavia Hills Mayor Ashley Curry said if any new options were presented, they would be reviewed.

Butler said he believes the resolutions will be effective as the project continues to move forward.