ALDOT announces the opening of the 11th and 17th Avenue North ramps downtown

As of Monday, August 27th, the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) announces the opening of the 11th Avenue North ramp. This will help with the flow of traffic departing from downtown.

Over the last year we have seen the downtown highways of 20/59 expand into new possibilities for Birmingham, but also a construction of confusion for the city’s citizens.

Veronica Duarte, a Birmingham commuter, “I’m excited that this means that traffic will cause less congestion. I can probably get to work on time.”

In order to continue to successfully navigate through downtown here are some tips:

11th Avenue North Ramp. Once You Enter:

• Go right for I-65 North to Huntsville
• Stay in the center lane for I-65 to Montgomery
• Go left for I-59/20 to Tuscaloosa

“We are very pleased with the opening of the 11th Avenue North ramp which makes entering and exiting downtown Birmingham much easier and faster for motorists,” says DeJarvis Leonard, East Central Region Engineer. “The transition to the ramp has gone smoothly. I think this can be attributed to commuters educating themselves on how to navigate the ramp, as well as the excellent coverage from our local news media.”

ALDOT also plans to have the ramp for 17th Street North to open this Friday.

Leonard mentions, “Hopefully, by the end of this week, we’ll be opening the 17th Street North ramp for the first time. Drivers can find out more of this new ramp on our website www.5920 bridge.com, as well as receive traffic alerts on Facebook and Twitter @5920bridge.”

The openings of these two ramps will complete Phase II of the I-59/20 Central Business District (CBD) Interchange and Bridge Replacement Project. Message boards and traffic controls will continue to be in place. 

I’m sure Birmingham citizens look forward to saving time on their commutes to and from work.