A fourteen month bridge closure scheduled to take place in downtown Birmingham is expected to cause major headaches for truckers and other drivers in the area.
Starting in fall of 2018, the Interstate 59/20 bridges in Birmingham’s downtown area will be replaced. The Alabama Department of Transportation says that the bridges are decades old and currently carrying twice the amount of traffic that they were designed for.
Bridge Demolition Project to Cause Heavy Delays
Detours around the bridge closure could take trucks as much as 30 miles out of their way and add significantly to drive time through the city.
ALDOT admits that the construction project “is going to be a problem at its very best” but says that the bridges must be replaced in the name of safety.
ALDOT is recommending that drivers use I-65 to travel through the city and I-459 to travel around the city.
Preparatory work for the bridge replacement began in September 2015.
Said Buck Moore of Birmingham’s Buddy Moore Trucking, “i\It is going to be a nightmare for us.”