Birmingham Xpress

Birmingham Xpress is a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system under development in Birmingham. The first phase consists of a single east-west corridor from Woodlawn to Five Points West through the City Center. That first phase, which was planned to be complete before the 2021 World Games, is now expected to begin service in 2022, again coinciding with the World Games which were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bus Rapid Transit service has also been proposed for the U.S. Highway 280 corridor, but no specific projects have been announced.

The Birmingham City Council approved $20 million in matching funds in October 2017 to qualify for another $20 million U.S. Department of Transportation "Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery" (TIGER) grant. The city's portion of the funding was made available from the 2018 Birmingham warrant issue. The Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority (BJCTA) is responsible for a portion of the capital funding, and will take over operation of the system once it is in place.

Strada Professional Services' consulting contract with the city for project development was terminated in mid-2018, but the company was soon brought back on board for project management services. The system's development was then placed under the City of Birmingham's Capital Projects Management Office (CPMO), under deputy director Howard Richards. The name "Birmingham Xpress" was announced in January 2019.

The city contracted with Skanska USA Building Inc. of Parsippany, New Jersey for $1.8 million over two years to serve as program management consultant for the system's development, and hired Charlotte Shaw, former manager of capital budget and planning for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) as its internal project manager, with the title of deputy director of capital projects. Shaw left that position in October 2021 to accept the job of CEO for the BJCTA.

The Bus Rapid Transit project includes the creation of dedicated bus lanes and stops along the entire route. As many as 15 new 40-60 seat, low-floor, compressed natural gas-fueled buses will use the route, timed to reach each stop every 15-minutes. Purchase of the buses with $9,037,500 from federal funds was approved by the City Council on August 13, 2019.

City officials have discussed creating an integrated payment system that could combine Xpress and MAX fares, along with payments for ride sharing services operating in the city.

Route

The eastern terminus, called the Woodlawn Community Transit Center, is being constructed at the site of the former Ken Del Building at 5601 1st Avenue North in Woodlawn. The western terminus, the CrossPlex Transit Center, is located near the Birmingham CrossPlex at 4802 Avenue W in Five Points West.

Construction of the system began at the West Transit Station in December 2020. The East Transit Station is set to be completed in 2022. The $26,317,152 contract to construct the route itself was awarded to Brasfield & Gorrie in August 2021. Thirty-six open air raised-platform stations are being constructed along the route, which is divided into segments. An initial idea to construct some of them in road medians was abandoned in favor of all curbside stops.

The East segment runs from the Woodlawn Community Transit Center westward along 1st Avenue North (U.S. Highway 11) into downtown Birmingham, turning south at the Birmingham Intermodal Facility.

The In-Town Transit Partnership (ITP) segment begins at the intersection of 1st Avenue and 18th Street North, passes under the Railroad Reservation via the 18th Street underpass ("Rainbow Tunnel") and turns west again at 5th Avenue South, continuing under I-65 to 8th Street South where it curves down one more block to 6th Avenue South in Titusville.

The Western segment continues along 6th Avenue South to Elmwood Cemetery, then turns north on Martin Luther King Jr Drive, then follows Lomb Avenue to Bessemer Road (U.S. Highway 11), continuing westward past the Birmingham Crossplex to Avenue W, where it turns south to reach the CrossPlex Transit Center.

Buses

The system was originally planned for 60-foot buses, but later changed to 40-foot buses. The Birmingham City Council approved a $9,037,500 expenditure to purchase 15 buses through the BJCTA in August 2019.

References

• Coker, Angel (November 1, 2017) "City council approves matching federal funds for new transit system." Birmingham Business Journal
• "Birmingham's new hope for public transit." (December 7, 2018) Birmingham Business Journal
• Gonsoulin, Jennifer (January 16, 2019) "Birmingham trans gets new name, payment options." abc3340.com
• Johnson, Roy S. (January 25, 2019) "Birmingham’s Bus Rapid Transit system gets branded, plus updates." The Birmingham News
• Wright, Erica (January 31, 2019) "Plans unveiled for new inner-city bus rapid transit system in Birmingham." The Birmingham Times
• Beahm, Anna (August 15, 2019) "Purchase of 15 buses pushes Birmingham Xpress forward." The Birmingham News
• Beahm, Anna (December 7, 2019) "Birmingham bus rapid transit system target now 2022." The Birmingham News
• Coker, Angel (January 27, 2020) "City's Bus Rapid Transit project advances." Birmingham Business Journal
• Coker, Angel (November 24, 2020) "Where Birmingham's bus-rapid transit project stands." Birmingham Business Journal
• Coker, Angel (December 17, 2020) "Construction on Birmingham Xpress project to begin." Birmingham Business Journal
• Prickett, Sam (August 17, 2021) "Birmingham Council Set To Fund Rapid Transit Project Next Week" BirminghamWatch
• Coker, Angel (August 24, 2021) "Bus Rapid Transit project receives additional $18M from city." Birmingham Business Journal

External links

• Bus Rapid Transit at birminghamal.gov