Finance committee updated on Lakeshore interchange, BJCTA funding

The diverging diamond interchange project at Lakeshore Drive and I-65 is progressing toward construction in 2017.

The finance committee heard from Volkert Engineers representatives at its July 20 meeting, as they considered authorization for the mayor to enter agreements with ALDOT and gain right-of-way access for the project.

Volkert representatives said they have done the interchange modification study and sent it to the Federal Highway Administration, but ALDOT can choose to authorize funding sooner. The representatives requested that council members keep in contact with ALDOT to stress the urgency of the project and keep it moving.

The plans include new off and on ramps onto I-65 and a "diverging diamond," which crosses traffic to the opposite side of the road at the bridge over the interstate, creating an opportunity for drivers to veer left onto the interstate without stopping. It also allows vehicles approaching Lakeshore from I-65 off ramps to merge into traffic instead of waiting for a light.

The representatives also showed plans for a new entrance into the Walmart parking lot from the eastbound lane of Lakeshore, to the delight of committee members. The new entrance would allow drivers to turn right into the parking lot or exit back into the eastbound lane from Walmart, but it would not permit left turns.

The new lanes would ease traffic congestion and possibly, committee members said, bring more business to the area.

“This is going to bring back Wildwood,” Ward 1 Representative Michael Hallman said.

With a projected nine-month planning cycle, Volkert representatives are anticipating an early 2017 start date. They requested an ongoing dialogue with city members as the project continues.

The committee voted in favor of authorizing the mayor for the ALDOT agreement and ROW acquisition. The matter will be voted on by the full council next Monday.

At the same finance meeting, committee members heard from the BJCTA about service for the new fiscal year. The city is making a payment of $65,975 for bus services in the final quarter of FY 2015. For the next year, the city is considering cutting Route 42, which stops at 28th Avenue, Brookwood Mall and Brookwood Medical Center. The route would be replaced with a new service to Samford University, which could become a partnership between the city and university.

Costs for next year's services have not been determined, but BJCTA president Ann Dawson-August said the transit authority would have a budget request available to the city prior to the mayor's Aug. 25 budget presentation to city council.