Road Work Ahead

FULTONDALE—A recent study has found a significant uptick in vehicle traffic through the City of Fultondale as a result of the Interstate 59/20 closure in downtown Birmingham.

Ken Boozer, a Jefferson County Roads and Transportation representative, has provided Fultondale Police Chief D.P. Smith with a count of daily motorists on both Carson Road and Black Creek Road. According to numbers presented at the Fultondale City Council meeting on Monday, Black Creek Road has seen a 43 percent traffic increase, as more than 5,600 additional drivers pass through per 24 hours for a total count of 18,727 vehicles.

On Carson Road, more than 17,800 vehicles were clocked per 24 hours for an increase of 21 percent (2,994 vehicles).

“…we asked for the count before the 20/59 bridges were removed and traffic was diverted through our city,” read an email from Smith. “The count was used to help better calibrate the signals for the additional traffic. This will help us better allocate our resources during peak traffic time.”

The Birmingham bridges are expected to be down for the remainder of 2019 and well into 2020.