Through the guidance of Operation New Birmingham and the assistance of the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex and the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, a concept report was prepared to evaluate the engineering, construction and cost feasibility for lowering a 1.5 mile section of I-20/I-59 between 31st Street and the I-65 interchange through the northern section of downtown Birmingham. The 2004 Birmingham City Center Master Plan recommended lowering this section of the interstate (currently on elevated structure), citing a variety of community benefits including safety and capacity improvements, air, noise and vibration impact reductions, and aesthetic and connectivity benefits between the Civic Center District and downtown.

Existing Conditions
The existing I-20/I-59 viaduct is a defining characteristic of the Civic Center District, separating the BJCC from the downtown. The current viaduct structure is not only unattractive, loud and vibrational, but the on and off-ramp system is unfriendly to pedestrians and confusing to motorists. Both the BJCC and the Museum of Art are planning expansions including a 60,000-seat stadium that will exacerbate congestion and wayfinding issues.

Outdated design conditions in the corridor include left-hand entrance and exits, substandard shoulders and insufficient weaving distances between interchanges. Much of the corridor operates under congested conditions during a.m. and p.m. peak commute periods. Traffic entering the city in commute periods routinely backs up past 31st Street to the east and Akadelphia Road to the west. The westbound I-20/I-59 off-ramp to 22nd Street often backs up onto the interstate in the mornings.

Study showed this corridor section of I-20/I-59 to have a crash rate more than 2 ½ times the statewide Alabama average rate, and includes 2 of the top 4 highest statewide crash locations: 

•           -  #1 - Segment between US 280 and 31st Street - 185 crashes in 3 years
•           -  #4 - Segment between I-65 and 16th Street - 165 crashes in 3 years

An analysis of future year (2032) conditions showed that without improvements, conditions will only worsen. Traffic is expected to grow by 0.5% per year for the period between 2007 and 2032 (total growth rate of 11-percent), resulting in traffic volumes that well exceed current capacity.

The current elevated I-20/I-59 structure between US-280 and I-65 is in need of rehabilitation due to its age and condition. Current State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) funds are allocated to the design and rehabilitation of the existing structures, with design work to begin in 2011 and rehabilitation work scheduled for 2012. This rehabilitation work would require temporary shifting of traffic and reduced travel lanes on each structure so each structure can be rehabilitated without traffic.

A Different Plan
The 2004 Master Plan recommended depressing through travel lanes on I-20/I-59 through the center city and parallel grade-level boulevards that would include spacious sidewalks, tree plantings and creative bridge designs at each street crossing, to transform the corridor to create “a grand urban space”. The Master Plan cited the recently completed Fort Washington Way lowering project in Cincinnati as a model for this type of project.

The programmed rehabilitation funds may potentially be used to fund a portion of the lowering project cost. The construction period to lower the interstate system would be longer, but the final product would provide key benefits and support of the community’s goals established by the City Center Master Plan, benefits not realized if the structures are replaced in kind.

Project Benefits
A preliminary concept developed showed that a project to depress I-20/I-59 through the downtown Birmingham area is feasible from an engineering and design perspective and no insurmountable challenges were identified.

The project will have several benefits for the community:

•  Improved safety and capacity in the corridor (the corridor has the #1 and #4 highest accident locations in Alabama); 
• Create a link, rather than a barrier, between the BJCC and the rest of downtown; 
• Reduced noise, pollution and vibration; 
• Improve access and wayfinding to and from the interstate ; 
• Improve east-west connectivity and capacity along parallel frontage roads, improve ramps and eliminate weaving movements at the I-65 and US-280 interchanges.
• This project could be accomplished within existing right-of-way and make more than 20 acres of land adjacent to the proposed multi-purpose dome that now lies underneath interstate overpasses available for private development. Alternative alignments to this corridor would be much more costly and displace many business and residences.

To construct the facility, the lanes on the interstate would be reduced to two lanes on one of the elevated structures while the depressed section is being built; the pattern would then be reversed. The depressed section would carry additional travel lanes (four in each direction) once completed.

Overall, the project demonstrates significant safety and operational benefits in the corridor and will encourage economic development and meet community goals of the project as recommended in the Master Plan.

Next Steps
Next steps for the project include getting the project on the list of State Transportation Improvement Projects, which must be done by the local Metropolitan Planning Agency, and beginning planning, public involvement and concept design work consistent with the Federal NEPA process, which will document project impacts (right-of-way, environmental, historical, ecological, community, etc) and project costs.

The project is listed as a community goal in the Birmingham Center City Master Plan, and additional stakeholder and public meeting efforts are planned to strengthen the local and business community support for the project.