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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Traffic flows along Columbiana Road near where it connects with U.S. 31. That intersection is slated for improvements.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Traffic moves through the intersection of Columbiana Road and U.S. 31 from Interstate 65 North in Vestavia Hills on June 12.
Despite some delays, a comprehensive plan to improve the intersection of Columbiana Road and U.S. 31 is set to begin later this year.
The city of Vestavia Hills collaborated with the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham for a comprehensive study of the city’s intersections several years ago.
As part of that evaluation, crash data for each intersection was closely studied, and the results determined the intersection of U.S. 31 and Columbiana Road had the highest number of crashes.
Lori Beth Kearley, the city’s public services director, said that, fortunately, these accidents are minor, mostly sideswipe and rear-ending incidents that typically do not cause injury. In the five years ending January 2024, there were 118 crashes there, 114 of which had no injuries, she said.
However, Kearley said the frequency of these accidents has the potential to cause more problems.
“It was the number of crashes that really has gotten our attention because when you have an accident, then you have further delays and congestion,” she said, “and, obviously, from a safety standpoint, even if you don't have injuries, there's the potential for them."
Many of the crashes occur as motorists travel south on Columbiana Road and are looking to their left toward U.S. 31 North as they prepare to make a right turn onto the highway. Additionally, Kearley said the two right-turn lanes from Columbiana Road onto U.S. 31, line-of-sight issues as motorists travel south on Columbiana and the haphazard placement of many businesses near the intersection all contribute to confusion and accidents at that choke point.
"Some of the things that we're trying to clear up there at the intersection are driver confusion," Kearley said. "There are some sight distance issues that create some safety concerns, and all of those things combined just add to an already congested intersection.
"Ideally you don't have access points that close to an intersection, but when you have businesses that are already established, it's a lot trickier than it is to come in with a clean slate," she added. "We're evaluating that against current access management standards and kind of balancing that with the business operations to get the most efficient design that we can."
All of the work will be in the public right-of-way, so no businesses located near the intersection will be directly affected, Kearley said. The city has discussed the plans with area business owners to ensure they won’t be negatively impacted during construction or once the project is complete, she said.
"We are not asking private property owners to make changes," she said, "but we have communicated and shared the plans with them and worked with them to make sure that the plans, while we are making some access changes, still meet the needs of their business and traffic circulation and that kind of thing."
Kearley said the project will include some resurfacing, striping improvements and adjustments to lanes, which will improve sight lines. Additionally, she said there will be some access management improvements and signalization upgrades. "All of that will be part of the design to improve safety," Kearley said.
The project had been scheduled for bidding this past spring, but now the target date to seek bids from contractors is later this summer, with construction set to begin in the fall, Kearley said.
The intersection involves three government entities — Vestavia Hills, Jefferson County and the Alabama Department Of Transportation. That adds layers of "complexity" to the review and funding processes, she said. However, Kearley said she is in contact regularly with representatives from the state and county and, despite the delays, the improvement plan was budgeted as a 2024 project.
"We are in communication with them, and things are moving forward," she said. "All that is to say everybody's involved in making this a better intersection.”
Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Traffic moves through the intersection of Columbiana Road and U.S. 31 from Interstate 65 North in Vestavia Hills on June 12.
Both Vestavia Hills and Jefferson County are funding the project, with the city contributing $100,000. There also are design costs.
The county is leading the bidding process, and ALDOT is in charge of reviewing design options. Other factors have contributed to delays, including the Alabama Regional Transportation Operations Plan, which includes a comprehensive traffic signal plan, as well as the city’s desire to collect more data on the intersection, Kearley said.
Everyone wants to make sure the design being evaluated is the most efficient, the safest and the best overall, she said.
ALDOT has approved the project, but “we do still have to work through their process” before work can begin," Kearley said.
While the main intention is to improve safety, the intersection redesign is part of Vestavia Hills’ master plan to revitalize the lower portion of U.S. 31. The master plan addresses several major issues for a 1-mile stretch of U.S. 31 heading north from the city’s border with Hoover. That area is referred to as “the gateway” to Vestavia Hills.
The master plan includes major projects such as a public-private partnership to redevelop the old Days Inn property and a retail development that will include new locations of Waldo’s Chicken & Beer and Big Bad Breakfast, currently under construction at the site of the old Vestavia Motor Lodge.
Assistant City Manager Cinnamon McCulley said the city communicated extensively with business owners in the lower U.S. 31 area and along Columbiana Road regarding the plans to redevelop the old Days Inn property during its charrette, a series of stakeholder meetings held in March 2023. Access points were a major point of discussion with business owners in regard to roadway improvements in the area, she said.
McCulley said Kearley and the Public Services Department are challenged with ensuring the newly designed intersection not only improves safety but ensures motorists will be able to easily access the businesses along U.S. 31 and Columbiana Road.
"That's a busy, busy area of 31, which we love. We love the activity, but we know that there are improvements that can be made," McCulley said. "It's not just Columbiana. We look at this strategically, and Lori Beth and her staff are doing a really great job of viewing it as a city project and not just an individual project. It will all work together."
Additionally, the city is expected to begin work soon to improve drainage issues along nearby Massey Road. Kearley said every effort is being made to schedule the intersection project to minimize inconvenience to motorists as much as possible, while tying the project into the master plan functionally and aesthetically.
"We are coordinating with the other efforts with the revitalization of 31 on that end. We actually have design underway for landscaping improvements for the gateway that are fully coordinated with this project,” she said. "We look at the big picture and make sure that the engineers for one project have all the plans and information from the others so that they're fully synced and coordinated.
"You've got three parties looking over these plans and coordinating, so that'll be part of any pre-construction meeting that we have," Kearley added. "There's the potential for Massey Road to already be underway or closely timed with this project. That will be carefully thought out during pre-construction activities."
