Leaders from the cities of Birmingham, Mountain Brook, Homewood and Trussville met Monday in the Jefferson County Commission chamber to discuss the importance of regional cooperation in bringing to fruition two projects to improve road infrastructure, quality of life and safety across city lines.

The first, much-anticipated project is upgrading the Hollywood Boulevard bridge over U.S. 280, including adding a third lane to the bridge, a guarded pedestrian bridge, a traffic light at the U.S. 280 exit ramp, and a new turn lane onto U.S. 280 East.

The second project is widening along Deerfoot Parkway. Additional travel lanes and congestion relief for U.S. 11 are designed to improve long-term traffic capacity to accommodate continued commercial and residential development in the area.

A joint press statement from Trussville Mayor Ben Short, Homewood Mayor Jennifer Andress and Mountain Brook Mayor Graham Smith cited the Deerfoot Parkway project as “one of the strongest examples of regional cooperation our county has seen in decades.”

Jefferson County Commission President Pro Tem Joe Knight and Commissioner Mike Bolin added, “These projects represent more than roadway improvements. They are an example of strategic long-term planning and regional collaboration. These projects will deliver meaningful results for Jefferson County citizens for years to come and improve the connectivity of our communities.”

“This infrastructure project is an example of what happens when we work together,” Mayor Randall Woodfin said.

Bids for Phase 1 of the Hollywood Boulevard project are scheduled for early March, with construction on new sidewalks along Hollywood Boulevard, extending from Malaga Avenue into Mountain Brook, expected to begin in early summer and be completed by mid-summer. The remainder of the year will focus on environmental review, Alabama Department of Transportation permitting and finalizing federal agreements for the larger bridge and parkway components.

In spring 2027, both the Hollywood Boulevard Bridge widening, Phase 2, and the Deerfoot Parkway widening project in Trussville are expected to go out to bid, followed by construction on the bridge and parkway during 2027-2028, with each project estimated to take about one year.

Hollywood Boulevard and Deerfoot Parkway see about 20,000 cars per day, according to Jefferson County Director of Roads and Transportation Chris Nichols, so easing traffic congestion in these growing areas has been a concern of city leaders for years.

(AI rendering of how the new Hollywood overpass is envisioned to work. (Source: Jefferson County)

The Hollywood Boulevard project also will assuage major safety concerns. For more than six decades, the bridge has been F-rated, a danger to pedestrians and bicyclists who cross it, according to Smith and Andress.

The pedestrian bridge component, which early advocate Andress described as a “small but complicated project,” has been in development since 2012, when the Homewood City Council first approved the concept with coordination among Homewood, Mountain Brook and Birmingham.

After feasibility funding in 2016 and design options presented in 2018, a dedicated pedestrian bridge was estimated at about $1.165 million. The two cities formed the U.S 280 Neighborhood Improvement District Cooperative and raised roughly $1.1 million through public and private sources.

By 2019-2020, county and state officials preferred a full overpass replacement, but progress stalled during COVID. Planning resumed in 2021, and costs exceeded $4 million by 2023.

The current project has completed construction documents and secured easements and is considered shovel-ready. The project has secured funding from a variety of public and private sources, including a $12,000 donation from the Hollywood Garden Club.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville, championed the Deerfoot Parkway project in the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies appropriation passed in February; It received massive funding in that bill and can proceed through the ALDOT process.

Overall, the local officials said Monday, the projects are examples of the kind of regional cooperation they would like to pull off more often.

“Many of you are probably wondering why is Trussville standing here with Mountain Brook, Homewood and the city of Birmingham,” Short said, “but the reality is it just shows the importance of regional cooperation.”