Hollywood Boulevard pedestrian bridge

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The Hollywood Boulevard pedestrian bridge was a proposed pedestrian and bicycle connection between the suburbs of Homewood and Mountain Brook across U.S. Highway 280 near the existing Hollywood Boulevard vehicular overpass, built in the 1960s with two lanes of traffic and no pedestrian path.

The Homewood City Council first approved a resolution to pursue development of such a bridge on August 13, following discussions with Mountain Brook and Birmingham coordinated by State Representative Paul DeMarco (R-District 46) had already begun. Homewood City Council member Jackie Langlow was also a leader, and the project was overwhelmingly supported by the 900-member Birmingham Track Club, headed by Jennifer Andress.

As discussions progressed, it became clear that initial budget estimates were insufficient. Homewood Council member Jesse Vogtle also noted that with the intersection improvements made to the highway by the Alabama Department of Transportation, more drivers were using the Hollywood Boulevard overpass as a "Michigan left" alternative. The cities became concerned that if they did erect a parallel pedestrian bridge, that it might have to be demolished soon later if ALDOT moved to replace the overpass.

Meanwhile, DeMarco lost his seat in the 2014 Republican primary, and Andress was elected to the Homewood City Council in 2016. She took up the mantle of leading the project as planning continued. In November 2016 both Homewood and Mountain Brook approved $6,000 each as a 20% match for a feasibility study through the Metropolitan Planning Organization and Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham's APPLE (Advanced Planning, Programming and Logical Engineering) program. That study, which compared various design options and funding schemes over the longer section of the boulevard from Malaga Avenue to Mountain Brook Village, was completed by Sain Associates in June 2018.


The proposal has been shepherded by Homewood City Council member Jennifer Andress. The two cities each pledged $200,000 in funding, alongside a commitment of $150,000 from Alabama State Senator Slade Blackwell's discretionary funds for capital projects. Additional funds were to be secured from private donors and from the State of Alabama. Private contributions have been secured from the Hollywood Garden Club, the Birmingham Track Club and Trak Shak.

That initial scheme was budgeted at $1.17 million. Placement of the pre-fabricated bridge structure was expected to require the highway to be closed for two days. Andress expected to secure all necessary funding by October 2018, with construction anticipated in Spring 2019.

Before any contracts were signed, the Jefferson County Roads and Transportation Department and the Alabama Department of Transportation developed plans to widen the existing vehicular bridge and add a traffic signal for cars exiting onto Hollywood Boulevard from Highway 280. Progress on the project was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The changes and delays led Birmingham, Homewood and Mountain Brook to revise their budget for the pedestrian bridge itself to $2 million and to commission AECOM of Los Angeles, California to produce contract documents for bids to be solicited in August 2022.

References

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