Controlled access roads proposed in Cahaba Beach Road project

If a proposal by the Alabama Department of Transportation becomes reality, Cahaba Beach Road will be reconnected with Sicard Hollow Road, linking the latter with U.S. 280 via controlled access roads.

DeJarvis Leonard, ALDOT’s East Central Region engineer, said all previously unveiled options for the Cahaba Beach Road project, which would build a road and bridge over the Little Cahaba River, remain on the table, but at this time options 5 and 5-B will be advanced to a design phase as the department continues to collect public comment, as they did at a public input meeting at Liberty Park Middle School on Aug. 7. The option to not build the road and bridge is also still on the table.

The road and bridge reconnecting 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 280 as many have assumed. The estimated cost is between $12 to $15 million, Leonard said.

Many groups and residents have expressed concern about traffic and the environmental impact, citing the potential impact on the water supply for the Birmingham area.

“ALDOT has come a long way in its construction activity,” Leonard said.

The department can mitigate issues that arise as a result of construction, including decreasing the amount of runoff flowing into the river, Leonard said.

David Butler, the Cahaba Riverkeeper, said the reason the state can even consider such a project is because the land has been undeveloped so as to maintain water quality.

“The reason it 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 said. “... It frustrates the purpose of all this protection.”

Butler 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, said the threats to the river are “not insignificant,” and that 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.”

Rob Rogers, with Deep South Outfitters, a fly fishing and canoeing company, said the additional 10,000 cars going over the road on a daily basis, an estimated number confirmed by Leonard, threatens the water supply.

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

Kimberly Cook, Vestavia council member, said while the project is not a city matter, she’s concerned because the city asked to be kept in the loop as to what was going on, but as of yet, to her knowledge, they haven’t been contacted. Cook said she’s concerned about the traffic and environmental impact of such a move, as well.

Vestavia City Manager Jeff Downes said he was not invited to an 11 a.m. meeting of stakeholders in the project, but the city had not asked to be invited. Downes said typically, ALDOT and the city have an open relationship, with the department asking for the city’s presence at meetings if it is needed. ALDOT Public Information Officer Linda Crockett told a reporter the morning meeting was not open to the public.

“I want to be kept informed,” Cook said.