Rocky Ridge Road work expected to wrap up mid-July

Residents who frequent Rocky Ridge Road may want to find an alternate route for the next several weeks, as the major resurfacing project along the Rocky Ridge Road from Shades Crest Road to Lorna Road began June 7.

Crews began working on the section of the road closest to Highway 280, and the city expects the majority of the resurfacing to be completed in mid-July.

While each lane is resurfaced, traffic will be cut to one lane, with a pilot truck and crewmembers directing drivers when to wait and when to proceed. Lane closures can only take place between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., but residents are already seeing congestion in the area.

“This is the heart of the project,” City Engineer Christopher Brady said

Brady said the city recommends residents seek out alternate routes to avoid the lane closures, if possible.

After seeing the impact on traffic, Brady said representatives from Mid South Paving have been in contact with the city and ALDOT to see if adding construction on Saturdays would be possible in order to ease some of the congestion. Brady said the city should know soon if construction on Saturdays would fall under the same 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. requirements as weekdays.

The project, which is funded in part by an Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program grant, is a joint effort between the City of Vestavia Hills, Hoover and Mountain Brook. Earlier this year, guardrail and shoulder improvements were made to the same stretch of road.

Brady said after the resurfacing is complete, there will be some restriping and additional guardrail work that might cause intermittent lane closures, but that they would not on the scale residents will experience for the next four to five weeks.

Brady also said he thinks as the project moves away from Highway 280, traffic headaches will decrease somewhat.

“I would think traffic congestion will lighten up a little from here on out,” he said.