Vestavia Hills council OKs contract for Cahaba Heights roundabout

The Vestavia Hills City Council on Monday night approved a contract for construction of a long-awaited roundabout at the intersection of Blue Lake Drive and Sicard Hollow Road in the Cahaba Heights community.

Gillespie Construction Co. was the lowest of three bidders for the project, charging $2.6 million for the job.

The cost will be split evenly between Vestavia Hills and Jefferson County, so Vestavia Hills’ portion will be $1.3 million, but the city will get credit for $270,000 it already has spent on design work, said Lori Beth Kearley, director of public services for Vestavia Hills.

The city of Birmingham also is a partner in the project but will not share in the cost.

Kearley reminded the City Council that money for the project was included in the fiscal 2024 budget.

Construction of the roundabout is scheduled to begin in March and expected to take about 12 months to complete. 

Councilman George Pierce pointed out that the intersection of Sicard Hollow Road and Blue Lake Drive is busy. Kearley said the plan is to keep traffic flowing during construction. 

"A big part of the costs is traffic control because that is one of the biggest challenges of the project," Kearley said. "But Sain Associates, who did the design — we've talked with them, and they've put together a very good traffic control plan and construction sequence that is going to allow us to keep a portion of the intersection open at all times."

The plan is to have one full-time police officer to help direct traffic as needed as well as other traffic control measures.

Vestavia Hills Mayor Ashley Curry said the roundabout will not only allow for smoother traffic, but will dramatically improve safety at the intersection. With only one stop sign from Sicard Hollow onto Blue Lake, Curry said the current intersection has the potential to be very dangerous. 

"We think it's a good move because of safety issues out there and the high volume of traffic. What we're learning is that roundabouts can prevent someone coming through an intersection or pulling out in that particular intersection where your line of sight is not ideal and could cause a major accident," Curry said. "This should alleviate that. To me, safety is the biggest issue as well as moving the traffic quickly."

The City Council also on Monday approved a resolution allowing Vestavia Hills City Manager Jeff Downes to sell six city vehicles as surplus. Revenue from the sale of these vehicles is intended to offset capital expenditures to retain vehicles that are within warranty timeframes and guidelines.

Additionally, the City Council authorized Downes to execute an agreement with the Jefferson County Commission by which the county will pay almost $170,000 to Vestavia Hills from coronavirus recovery money from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to cover the purchase of a new ambulance for the city’s Fire Department. 

The mayor and City Council also on Monday took time to observe January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month and recognized several local agencies, including the Children’s Aid Society of Alabama and the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, for work focused on the prevention of human trafficking and the rescue of individuals abducted in sexual exploitation or other forced labor. 

The council also held a first reading for two rezoning proposals: one to rezone 4525 Pine Tree Circle from an R-1 low-density residential zone to a B-2 business district, and another proposal to rezone 1929 Canyon Road from an institutional district to an office park district. The council is expected to vote on those proposals at its next meeting on Jan. 22 at 6 p.m.