Birmingham Intermodal Facility
- This article is about the passenger facility in downtown Birmingham. For the cargo hub in McCalla, see Birmingham Regional Intermodal Facility. For the former Birmingham Central Station on the same site, see 1996 Birmingham Central Station
The Birmingham Intermodal Facility is a three block long transit hub located between Morris Avenue and the Railroad Reservation in downtown Birmingham. The facility, originally envisioned as an expansion of Birmingham Central Station, serves Amtrak passenger rail as well as Greyhound and Megabus intercity buses, the BJCTA's MAX buses, and a dedicated shuttle to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport.
In 2008 the City of Birmingham approved $9 million in matching funds to release $23 million in federal allocations for the $30 million project. Approval of a contract with Goodwyn Mills & Cawood to design the expanded facility was delayed after questions arose about the relationship of Jeff Pitts, who was Larry Langford's campaign manager for the 2007 Birmingham mayoral election, with the company.
Giattina Aycock Architecture Studio and Hoskins Architecture formed a joint venture to design the facility when work resumed under William Bell's administration. Their design called for a retail and restaurant arcade, a 274-space parking deck, and a recreation of the Magic City sign which was famously displayed outside the former Birmingham Terminal Station. Design renderings approved by the Birmingham Design Review Committee in April 2013 showed a lofty "glass box" waiting area shaded by a broad, flat roof. A 60-foot message board would announce departures and arrivals as well as publicize community events. Some retail spaces were also planned.
Niles Bolton Associates of Atlanta, Georgia was engaged to provide consultation and planning services, and also provided architectural services for the bus transfer terminal. The design team recommended that the existing Central Station be demolished as part of the project, rather than adapted and incorporated into the expanded facility. The city was obligated to reimburse the Federal Transportation Administration for part of the federal funds used to build the older station in 1996. An agreement approved in May 2013 called for the city to transfer ownership of the Birmingham Amtrak Station (appraised at $800,000), and make a penalty payment of $101,000 to the FTA, clearing the way for demolition.
Hoar Program Management (HPM) provided program management services during construction. Part of their work included bringing Adam Hickman of the Foxhound Bee Co. to remove a hive of more than 50,000 honeybees from a former CSX Transportation facility on the site to boxes at the community garden at EcoFarm at Eastern Health Center.
The contract for construction of the new facility began was awarded to Rabren General Contractors of Auburn in April 2015. BJCTA buses began using the station on June 19, 2017 with concessions opening later that summer and Amtrak service beginning on February 1, 2018.
In 2019 the Birmingham City Council voted to provide $50,000 in matching funds toward a grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs to establish a "Birmingham Central Market" farmers market in the Birmingham Intermodal Facility.
In 2021 the Birmingham Intermodal Facility was awarded a $250,000 grant from the Southern Rail Commission to improve accessibility in anticipation of Amtrak restoring a Gulf Coast passenger rail corridor which would provide connections to Birmingham via New Orleans.
Layout
The Birmingham Intermodal Facility stretches from 16th Street North to 19th Street North between Morris Avenue and the Railroad Reservation. The westernmost portion of the site is a paid parking lot with an electric vehicle charging station. A portion of the lot, shaded by a metal canopy, shelters the Birmingham Central Market with farm stands on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. Until the service ended in 2019, a ZYP bike share station was located at 1600 Morris Avenue.
Occupying the entire block between 17th Street North and 18th Street North is the 39,630 square-foot Max Transit’s Central Bus Station, MAX Central Station or Birmingham Central Station for MAX buses. At the east end of the bus station is a covered plaza with a fountain. The Birmingham Xpress bus rapid transit service to the Birmingham Crossplex and Woodlawn has a platform on 18th Street.
The facility formerly hosted Birmingham's stop on Megabus' M93/M93R route from Memphis, Tennessee to Atlanta, Georgia. That route was discontinued on October 12, 2023. Olivia's Transit Cafe operated by Beverly Russell, opened inside the station in 2017 to serve breakfast and lunch.
The larger eastern building, occupying the block between 18th Street and 19th Street North, houses Amtrak and Greyhound passenger services, as well as community meeting rooms and administrative offices for the BJCTA. Packaged foods from Olivia's are available for sale at a vending area inside the station. When it opened, the building also housed a Birmingham Police Department substation, just a block away from Birmingham Police Headquarters.
The Intermodal Station has a taxi stand which is used by ride-share companies like Uber and Lyft, as well as MAX's Birmingham On-Demand van-share service.
References
- Diel, Stan (April 10, 2013) "Birmingham's intermodal terminal to include "glass box" waiting room, 60-foot message board." The Birmingham News
- Bryant, Joseph D. (May 21, 2013) "The bulldozers are coming: Birmingham City Council pays feds penalty to level MAX building." The Birmingham News
- Tomberlin, Michael (January 21, 2014) "Birmingham's $30 million intermodal station set to start construction." The Birmingham News
- Smith, Mike D. (April 30, 2015) "Intermodal construction to begin, late 2016 completion scheduled." The Birmingham News
- Edgemon, Erin (November 6, 2015) "50,000 honeybees found during construction of Birmingham transit facility" The Birmingham News
- Walsh, Lauren (October 6, 2016) "A first look inside Birmingham's new Intermodal Facility." abc3340.com
- Edgemon, Erin (March 3, 2017) "Birmingham's downtown MAX bus, Amtrak, Greyhound station likely opening this summer." The Birmingham News
- Armstrong, Jessica (April 18, 2017) "New BJCTA Intermodal Station." Design Alabama
- Edgemon, Erin (June 19, 2017) "Birmingham's downtown MAX central station now open." The Birmingham News
- Edgemon, Erin (February 1, 2018) "Amtrak station now open at Birmingham Intermodal Facility." The Birmingham News
- Martinson, Coleman (June 5, 2019) "Farmers market coming to BJCTA terminal." Birmingham Business Journal
- Coker, Angel (September 27, 2021) "SRC grants Birmingham $250,000 for rail station improvements." Birmingham Business Journal
External links
- MAX Birmingham Intermodal at Maxtransit.org
- Birmingham, Alabama Intermodal Facility at amtrak.com
- Birmingham (Express Carriers) at greyhound.com