Expansion of Hwy 31 between Alabaster and Calera? (Hoover, Pelham: sales, lease)

[fezzador]

I know that the bridge at Exit 231 on 65 is scheduled to be widened eventually (a big part of the reason why the Calera sales tax jumped from 8 to 9 percent last year) but there's about a six mile stretch of hiway between Alabaster and Calera (basically from the Chevron to Wally World) that's still two lanes, and the traffic is starting to warrant a wider highway. There's a lot of spillover traffic from 65 that travel 31, and there's a LOT of trucks that use the highway that often impede the flow of traffic. Is there any news of expanding this stretch of road in the not-too-distant future?

[raj kapoor]

I hope so. I often use it as an alternate route on the weekends when beach traffic, coming or going is heavy. It feels a lot safer.
The new shopping center next to Target should help the cause. And of course residential which is bound to come since so much new Alabaster residential has gotten fairly pricey for so many.

raj

[Blazin65]

I don't mean any disrespect, but gees, 65 was just widened for a very long way.

[raj kapoor]

Originally Posted by Blazin65

I don't mean any disrespect, but gees, 65 was just widened for a very long way.

It is not disrespect to question the need. I would say however that you must not travel that section of I-65 from Hoover to Calera. It is as heavy as it can possibly be without already rating the expressway as over its designed limit.

Having an alternative in an urban area is always good when possible. Just today as I was headed to Cullman there was a wreck in the middle of the new I-22/I-65 interchange that brought those four lanes northbound down to ONE LANE. It was a mess.

This happened just a couple years ago on the above mentioned section when a car load of young men were killed returning from the coast . It was a cross over and both directions were closed for hours.
A four lane US 31 in that area could really be of great use.

raj

[Blazin65]

I don't disagree. Before widening 65 some more, why not widen Hwy 31 from the Galleria, all the way to Alabaster. Maybe that would benefit not only people from Ohio driving to the Gulf Coast, but residents along Highway 31 as well.

[Tourian]

65 is supposed to be the main evacuation route in case of zom...I mean hurricanes. It should follow I think that 31 can handle a lot of capacity in case 65 gets mucked up. Even just in the summer time everything after Alabaster promenade can get get backed up. And one minor accident cripples both roads. Both should be four lanes down to the first Calera exit at least If not down to the coast.

[raj kapoor]

Hi,
I was headed to the coast last evening and had to get off of I-65 at the 'tank farm' and go through Alabaster on US31. I don't know if there was a wreck, but at 6:45pm it was a stand still. We were able to get back on at the Promenade. Traffic was very heavy all the way which allowed moving more swiftly without fear of the need to drive the speed limit. lol

Just another example of how the US HWYS left behind after the interstate program was built are still a valuable tool to deal with unplanned circumstances. That is twice this week I have had to leave I-65, one definitely due to an accident in the north county. (a one car stupid accident)

Had the Promenade entrance been at a stand still we would have been heading to the coast using that two lane section of US31 between Alabaster and Calera. My point , that our discussion earlier in this thread about widening that section of US31 is not an odd idea. Widening I-65 further south from Pelham is coming but can't happen soon enough. Like it or not, that area and its traffic is an evidence of why Chilton County became part of the metro area a few years ago. (cross county commerce, jobs)

raj

[Tourian]

Seriously. 2 lanes each side at the Promenade is criminal. It should be minimum of 3 but probably 4 per side down to the first Calera exit, the one after the SC airport, before dropping down to 3 or 2. So many people use that and the SC exit for gas and food. One minor accident cripples the whole thing and 31 cannot handle the load.

[VeeBee66]

We just moved to the Calera area at the end of February. Please tell me that the bridge over I65 on Hwy 31 will be expanded and that whole intersection "fixed." It's a huge cluster right now. We moved from a large metro area (Boise) and the traffic here is much worse, imo. I65 needs to be widened from the tank farm south. At lease into Chilton County. Just last week there was a motorist with a flat tire and one police officer on the shoulder of I65 and traffic was backed up for close to 5 miles. I like to go up to Alabaster (exit 238) to shop and at least once it took me close to 1 hr to get from my home near exit 231. There was an accident on I65 and everyone was taking Hwy 31 as an alternate route.

[Blazin65]

VeeBee hate to say this but this is one of the reasons people don't move to Calera and/or houses are cheaper down there. It's a trade off. But welcome to the B'ham metropolitan area.