TRAFFIC ALERT: 1-59 South drops to one lane near Trussville—plan now

Get ready to sit pretty or reroute, folks… I-59 South near Trussville will soon drop to one lane. Here’s what we know.

A recap of what’s happening to 1-59

ICYMI, we recently we wrote about some of the changes ahead for I-59. Yesterday, the Trussville Tribune reported that ALDOT will soon close one lane on I-59S near Trussville. Here’s what ALDOT’s planning:

• The Location: I-59 near Chalkville. Mountain Road/North Chalkville Road between Old Springville Road and Woodlands Circle.

• The Plan: Jefferson County will work to add driving lanes and get signals working to help traffic flow, while ALDOT works on improving ramps off I-59.

• The Goal: to decrease ramp congestion when getting off of I-59.

The current plan

In a Trussville City Council meeting on Tuesday. March 8, Mayor Buddy Choat confirmed reconstruction of I-59 will cause closures to Southbound ramps for those merging onto 1-59S from Argo, Deerfoot Parkway and Chalkville Mountain Road.

Here’s what’s to come:

• The first part of construction will begin on I-59’s Southbound lanes in order to widen this side of the highway.

• A pass-through lane for the Southbound lanes will remain open during construction.

• When Southbound lanes are completed, ALDOT plans to route 1-59’s Northbound traffic over the Southbound side via one open lane. The lane will lead all the way through to Chalkville Mountain Road.

Workarounds

From train blockages to construction along Highway 11, traffic in Trussville has become a constant for residents. If you’re seeking alternative routes, here are some options:

• Roper Road: If you live behind CVS and The Entertainment District down Roper Road toward Leeds, you’ll be glad you reside on “the other side of the tracks” because you can bypass most all of the I-59 construction. Just follow Roper Road to Smith Simms Road to Old Leeds Road. Then either catch I-59 or venture over the bridge to go through Irondale and Mountain Brook.

• Derby Parkway: Take this route off Roper Road to Highway 78, which will take you to Montclair Road in Birmingham.

Oh, and BTW, that bill you may have read about in our recent Trussville train update… it been approved.

With traffic jams ahead on top of gas prices consistently rising, my solution to all this—if at all possible, just stay home. The pandemic already taught us how to do that, after all.

Get involved

Have input on the 1-59 reconstruction? Attend the public meeting on Thursday, March 24 from 4-6PM at the Trussville Civic Center. It will be an Open-House meeting with access to project information like maps and comment forms. Representatives from the Alabama Department of Transportation and the Design Consultant will be there to answer your questions. 

For all the news, follow us on Facebook and Instagram, plus sign up for our FREE newsletter.