U.S. Highway 280

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U.S. Highway 280 (also known as U.S. Route 280) is a spur of U.S. Highway 80. It currently runs for 392 miles from Blitchton, Georgia at U.S. Highway 80 to Birmingham at I-20/I-59. For much of its route, U.S. 280 travels through rural areas and smaller cities in southern Georgia and southeastern Alabama. Once the highway approaches Birmingham, it becomes choked with commuter traffic and sprawling suburban development. Numerous shopping centers are located on U.S. 280 throughout northern Shelby County and southern Jefferson County. Throughout Alabama, U.S. 280 is paired with the unsigned Alabama State Highway 38.

The final section of Highway 280, after it joins U.S. Highway 31 and enters Birmingham through the Red Mountain cut, is officially named the Elton B. Stephens Expressway, but is better known to residents as the Red Mountain Expressway. In Talladega County U.S. 280 is known as the "Jim Nabors Highway", in honor of the Sylacauga, native. In Georgia, U.S. 280 from Columbus to I-16, is known as "Power Alley".

Arlington Avenue was the original route for Highway 280 entering Birmingham.

Proposals for relieving traffic congestion

In June 2005 the University Transportation Center for Alabama at UAB completed a traffic impact study and visualization of seven alternative approaches to traffic congestion relief on Highway 280. The study was commissioned by the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham with support from Progress 280 and ALDOT. The result of the study was that significant reduction to morning travel time could be realized with construction of urban interchanges east of I-459, but that new interchanges west of I-459 would have little impact.

Upgrading Grants Mill Road as a parallel corridor would have no impact on 280's congestion. Implementation of Bus Rapid Transit service would have a significant impact at specific interchanges, but would make less of an impact on travel times for the corridor as a whole. The prospect of making at-grade improvements to intersections, as outlined in Horizon 280's improvement plan, would offer negligible benefit east of I-459, but improvement to the Rocky Ridge Road/Green Valley Road intersection would positively impact that specific bottleneck.

As a comparison, a brief evaluation of adding two lanes to the eastern part of the corridor was made, indicating the improvements were possible, but with several caveats. The study concluded that the most improvement could be realized through a combination of improvements that included adding urban interchanges and extra lanes east of I-459, reconfiguring the Rocky Ridge/Green Valley interchange either as an urban interchange or by offsetting the intersections, and considering Bus Rapid Transit as part of a regional transit plan.

In June 2006 Progress 280 hired Figg Engineering Group of Tallahassee, Florida to complete a design study for an elevated tollway along the median of Highway 280. Linda Figg presented her schematic designs to the group on August 17, 2006. The task force voted to accept the plans and begin a process of public hearings before submitting them, with any changes, to ALDOT for the funding and scheduling process.

Figg's conceptual design showed a 35-foot-tall elevated four-lane bridge handling 2-way traffic over 10 miles of Highway 280 from Elton B. Stephens Expressway to Eagle Point Drive. The bridge sections would span 150 feet or more between single piers located in existing medians. The design and locations of interchanges, including one at I-459, have not been determined.

Figg's firm was also hired to conduct the public meetings needed to secure community approval for the project. A January 22 meeting focusing on the eastern segment was attended mostly by Shelby County residents who generally support the proposal. A meeting about the western segment the next day was attended by numerous opponents carrying "No Elevated" signs. Philip Morris, an architecture and landscape historian, told the group that the structure shown in the proposal "destroys one of the most beautiful approaches to any city in the United States."

In June 2009 the Metropolitan Planning Organization approved $1 million in funding for Figg Engineering to further study the feasibility and perform preliminary design engineering for elevated lanes between I-459 and Double Oak Mountain. Governor Bob Riley publicly backed the plan and moved for the state to make it a funding priority. Meanwhile the Citizens to Save 280 hired a different consulting engineer, Walter Kulash of North Carolina, who recommended an alternative scheme of new side streets, allowing the elimination of traffic signals near the I-459 interchange for less than the cost of the elevated tollway.

Cities along the route

From south to north:

Major Highway Junctions

  • U.S. Highway 80 and I-16 at Blichton, Georgia
  • U.S. Highway 25 and U.S. Route 301 at Claxton, Georgia
  • U.S. Highway 221 at Vidalia, Georgia
  • U.S. Highway 23, U.S. Highway 319, and U.S. Highway 341 at McRae, Georgia
  • U.S. Highway 129 at Abbeville, Georgia
  • U.S. Highway 41 and I-75 at Cordele, Georgia
  • U.S. Highway 19 at Americus, Georgia
  • U.S. Highway 27 from Cusseta to Columbus, Georgia
  • U.S. Highway 43 from Phenix City to Opelika
  • I-85 and U.S. Highway 29 from Opelika to I-85, Exit 62
  • U.S. Highway 231 from Sylacauga to Harpersville
  • I-459 in Birmingham
  • U.S. Highway 31 from Homewood to I-20/I-59 in Birmingham
  • U.S. Highway 78 at Birmingham (3rd and 4th Avenue South exit). Prior to the completion of the Elton B. Stephens Expressway, U.S. 78 and U.S. 280 overlapped until they junctioned with U.S. Highway 11 at the intersection of 1st Avenue North and 24th Street.
  • U.S. Highway 11 at the exit with 1st Avenue North and 26th Street in downtown Birmingham.
  • I-20/I-59 in downtown Birmingham. This is the western terminus of U.S. 280.

References

  • "U.S. Route 280." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 21 Mar 2006, 13:28 UTC. 13 Apr 2006, 18:55 [1].
  • "Fun facts, historical tidbits and tips to find your way around Birmingham from traffic engineer John Garrett." (January 2, 2007) Birmingham News
  • MacDonald, Ginny (June 10, 2009) "MPO approves elevated U.S. 280 study." Birmingham News
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