Running groups to host fundraiser for Hollywood pedestrian bridge

The Birmingham Track Club, Trak Shak and City Council Ward 5 Representative Jennifer Andress will hold an event later this month with the goal of raising $15,000 for the construction of a pedestrian bridge over U.S 280.

On Sept. 29, the groups will hold a “run social” beginning at the parking lot of Over Easy and Mexico Lindo. Andress said there will be a run from 6 to 8 a.m., with food and door prizes at the parking lot after the run. She said Mountain High Outfitters, Hydralive and Cahaba Brewing have all committed as vendors so far.

An avid runner, Andress made the pedestrian bridge proposal a central part of her campaign platform in 2016. The idea, which had been under consideration for several years before Andress was elected, would provide a safer path for runners and walkers who travel Hollywood Boulevard and the bridge that carries the road over U.S. 280 between Homewood and Mountain Brook.

The Regional Planning Commission has studied the area and come up with options ranging from $1.4 million to $3.87 million to complete. This summer, Andress said funding could be secured in the fall with the support of Mountain Brook, ALDOT and Jefferson County’s representatives in the state legislature.

Homewood will also consider funding for the bridge in the 2019 budget, which must be approved by October. The pedestrian bridge project is made more complicated since it crosses multiple jurisdictions who must all agree on the project.

The goal is to raise $15,000. More details are available on Facebook at “BTC Saturday Run Social – Hollywood Bridge Fundraiser.”