By William C. Singleton III
Journal contributor
The Alabama Department of Transportation is moving forward with plans to add turn lanes on the north and south sides of Alabama 119 at the intersection of U.S. 280.
Brian Davis, an ALDOT engineer in the Birmingham division, said the transportation department is ready to bid out the project for construction, a process that should be completed in time for an April construction date.
ALDOT plans to add a left turn lane on the north side of Alabama 119–also known as Cahaba Valley Road–giving the state road two left turn lanes as motorists travel east on U.S. 280 towards Double Oak Mountain.
The department also plans to extend the right turn lane on the north side of Alabama 119, Davis said.
“A lot of people want to make that right turn to go into Birmingham, but they get blocked and can’t get up there,” he said. “So we’re going to extend the right turn lane back far enough so those people can flow freely into that right turn lane.”
The improvement project will also include building a left turn lane on the south side of Alabama 119 onto U.S. 280 westbound. ALDOT estimates the cost of the project to be between $5 and $6 million.
At the latest, the project should be complete by the end of 2015, ALDOT officials say.
