Expect traffic delays this week, Birmingham drivers, as ALDOT continues work on Interstates 59/20 and I-65

Next week lanes and ramps are closing on both I-59/20 and I-65. Here are the details, Birmingham drivers.

We are still in Phase II but have entered parts of Phase III in ALDOT’s I-59/20 Central Business District (CBD) interchange and bridge replacement project.

Phase II included:

• 14 new bridges
• Two bridge removals
• Work to widen seven bridges with sixteen retaining walls
• Phase 2 also involves work items for grade, drain, base, pave, striping, signals and lighting.
• ALDOT says Phase II work is almost done and has cost just over $232 million.

RIP, 22nd Street Exit

Big changes have already happened, and one of the latest ones includes ALDOT closing the 22nd Street exit forever. You know, the one that takes you to the BJCC. It was a good exit to us, Birmingham. The BJCC is undergoing renovations, too.

Lanes Have Opened

If you’re driving into downtown Birmingham via Interstates 65 or 59/20, you can now enter Birmingham via new exit ramps.

• You can now get to 17th Street from I-65 North, I-65 South and I-59/20 North from Tuscaloosa.
• The exit from I-65 South is a left exit, that flies over I-59/20 and merges with the lanes from I-59/20 North and I-65 North, feeding onto 17th Street,
• The tallest ramp of ALDOT’s project recently opened at 11th Avenue North in Birmingham.

ALDOT spokesperson Linda Crockett said that contractors met the deadline to complete Phase II on time and received a $10 million bonus for completing the job on schedule.

Crockett added that work is continuing on Phase 3 of the project, and the old interstate bridges through downtown would start coming down in late 2018 or early 2019.

The entire project is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.

More Lanes Closing

Here are the lane closures and ramp closures this week on I-59/20 northbound and southbound, as well as on I-65 northbound and southbound.

• There will be a double right lane closure on I-65 northbound at the 16th
  Street exit Saturday, September 15, from 12 a.m. until 10 a.m.
• Carraway Boulevard will be closed between Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard and 11th Avenue North from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. each night, Monday, September 17 – Thursday, September 20.

Detour signs and message boards will be in place where necessary. Please keep in mind that all construction plans can change due to weather and other factors.

This work is a part of Phase II and Phase III of the I-59/20 Central Business District (CBD) Interchange and Bridge Replacement Project.