Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com

Starting Monday night, one of Alabama's busiest roadways will shut down until 2020, as the elevated sections of Interstate 59/20 in downtown Birmingham will close to traffic for an estimated 14 months to rebuild the bridges supporting the interstate, likely snarling traffic and wreaking havoc on daily commuters and occasional downtown visitors alike.

"We think that the first week or two is going to be extremely challenging," said DeJarvis Leonard, Alabama Department of Transportation East Central Region engineer.

"We're hoping motorists will identify alternate routes to mitigate some of the challenges that we have, and the bottom line is the finished product is going to be a lot better. We believe based on the analysis that the flow through Birmingham is going to be extremely improved."

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Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com

To try to minimize those challenges, ALDOT is urging motorists and especially truck traffic to take I-459 around the city if possible. Leonard said ALDOT has repaved most of I-459 and performed other improvements along the roadway in preparation for the increased traffic it will see after I-59/20 shuts down.

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Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com

But not all the estimated 160,000 vehicles that travel that stretch of I-59/20 daily will be able to go around.

"You can't take 160,000 vehicles a day and just dump them in one location and think it's not going to have an effect," Leonard said. "A lot of it depends on how much motorists make a determination to take alternate routes, which we have encouraged them to do."

For those who will continue commuting, or passing through Birmingham, over the next 14 months, here's what you need to know.

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Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com

For commuters

The good news is that while the I-59/20 is being demolished and rebuilt between I-65 and the Red Mountain Expressway (U.S. 280/31), those two north/south highways will see minimal closures. They may see more traffic, but the exits (apart from exits to I-59/20 where that roadway is closed) are expected to remain open.

That includes the exits redesigned and improved in 2018, such as the 17th Street North and 11th Avenue North exits into downtown.

Still, traffic will likely slow down, so allow extra time, even if you don't normally have to travel on I-59/20.

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Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com

For occasional downtown visitors

Plan ahead, because it's going to take longer than usual to reach your destination. Map out multiple options for reaching your destination or use a navigation app like Waze on your phone that takes traffic conditions into account when choosing the best route. ALDOT says it is working with Waze to provide them the latest information and help drivers choose the best route.

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Alabama Department of Transportation

Eastbound traffic

Vehicles headed toward downtown from Bessemer/Tuscaloosa on I-59/20 Eastbound will be forced to choose from a handful of exits where the road intersects with I-65. In the final stretch before the closure, drivers can choose to exit I-65 North or South, to exit onto 17th Street North, or exit onto Sixth Avenue North.

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Alabama Department of Transportation

Eastbound detour routes

ALDOT's preferred eastbound detour will be for drivers to take I-65 North to the Finley Boulevard exit, then take Finley Boulevard to Carraway Boulevard, where drivers will turn right to go back toward I-59/20. If the I-65 North exit is backed up, drivers can exit before the closure at Arkadelphia Road, then turn right onto Finley Boulevard to Carraway.

After turning right on Carraway Boulevard, drivers will be able to get back on I-59/20 via an entrance ramp at 25th Street North. However, that ramp is not expected to be completed until Feb. 4. Until then, ALDOT will direct detour traffic to continue down Carraway Boulevard to Fifth Avenue North, where they can take the onramp to the Red Mountain Expressway headed north to get back on I-59/20 past the closure point.

An alternate detour is for drivers to take I-65 South to Fourth Avenue South and take that one-way street to the Red Mountain Expressway headed north, which they can take to rejoin I-59/20.

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Alabama Department of Transportation

Westbound traffic

Drivers headed west toward downtown from Atlanta/Gadsden, or the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, will eventually have four options for exiting the interstate before the closure. The 31st Street offramp, which reopened in December will remain open throughout the project.

Drivers can also use a left exit to reach the Red Mountain Expressway headed south, or Carraway Boulevard headed north.

Eventually, a second right exit will allow drivers to exit directly onto 25th Street North near the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex and the Uptown entertainment district. That exit is expected to open to traffic on February 4.

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Alabama Department of Transportation

Westbound detours

To get around the closure headed west toward Tuscaloosa, ALDOT recommends drivers take Carraway Boulevard exit heading north, then turn left onto Finley Boulevard. From Finley Boulevard, drivers can take I-65 South to rejoin I-59/20, or continue on to Arkadelphia Road, where they will turn left and rejoin I-59/20 at the Arkadelphia Road exit.

An alternate detour is to take Red Mountain Expressway headed south and then take 3rd Avenue South (another one-way street) headed west to I-65 Northbound to get back to I-59/20.

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Alabama Department of Transportation

Red Mountain Expressway exits

From the Red Mountain Expressway headed north, drivers will still be able to exit onto 1st Avenue North or Second Avenue North to get into downtown. The exit to I-59/20 Northbound (towards the airport/Atlanta/Gadsden) will remain open.

Two lanes will continue on to Carraway Boulevard.

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Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com

Reaching the airport

To get to the airport from the west side of town, the best bet will likely be to use the eastern detours described above, or to get to the Red Mountain Expressway south of downtown and use that road to reach I-59/20 Northbound beyond the closure.

Drivers can also take city streets to reach Messer Airport Highway to stay further away from the congestion and detoured traffic. ALDOT says the on-ramp to enter I-59/20 at 31st Street North will be opened before the mainline closure begins.

Again, there will likely be heavy traffic along the detour routes, so drivers will want to leave themselves plenty of time to make their flights.

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Alabama Department of Transportation

Reaching the BJCC, City Hall

The interstate will be closed and rebuilt directly between the BJCC, the Birmingham Museum of Art, near Birmingham City Hall, Boutwell Auditorium and the Uptown entertainment district.

Some city streets will need to be closed for that construction work, but the contractors have a requirement to keep at least one city street open between 15th Street North and 18th Street North, another between 19th Street and 23rd Street, and Carraway Boulevard is expected to remain in service for most of the closure, except for planned closures to remove the bridges directly over the road.

Those closures are currently planned to from from Friday, Jan. 25 at 9 p.m until Monday, Jan. 28, and again on Sunday, Feb. 3, though those schedules could change.

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Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com

ALDOT says it will post updates on local street closures on the ALGOtraffic web site and mobile app, and will communicate local street closures with navigation apps like Waze.

Reaching parking decks around the BJCC could be challenging on major events, for instance the Metallica concert on Jan. 22, the day after 59/20 shuts down. Visitors will likely want to arrive very early to make sure they're in their seats before "Enter Sandman."

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Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com

What they're doing about it

ALDOT and the city of Birmingham acknowledge that the closure will have serious traffic impacts throughout the city, but insist they are doing what they can to minimize those disruptions.

City transportation director James Fowler said the department was working to sync traffic signals along the northern detour routes to keep traffic moving as much as possible, and would be monitoring the traffic conditions and looking at possible adjustments that can be made to expedite the flow.

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ALGOtraffic.com

ALDOT is working with navigation app companies to communicate the latest information and has opened a manned hotline where people can call for the latest information on the project and traffic conditions. That number is 205-346-5080.

The current traffic conditions and latest updates will be available on the ALGOtraffic.

ALDOT will have wreckers on standby along the detour route to quickly clear the inevitable traffic accidents and keep the detour traffic flowing as much as possible.

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Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com

Additional hours at City Hall

Some offices at Birmingham's City Hall will be operating with extended hours during the closure to allow people to apply for business licenses, pay fees or conduct other business at City Hall.

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin also encouraged other employers around downtown to consider offering flexible hours for their employees or taking other measures to decrease rush hour traffic jams.

"We encourage all downtown employers to consider innovative ways to help both employees and customers conduct business during the interstate construction project," Woodfin said. "Flexible hours will go a long way in helping our businesses run smoothly as possible during this transition period."

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Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com

Short-term pain, long-term gain?

Leonard and ALDOT stress that the finished product will be a major improvement over the old interstate situation. The new highway will have 12-foot wide shoulders for safety, the same number of through lanes and added auxiliary lanes connecting I-65 and Red Mountain Expressway in both directions

They hope the old nickname "Malfunction Junction" will disappear into history, as the ramps have been redesigned to give drivers more room to reach their exits and to eliminate the weaving across multiple lanes of traffic in short distances.

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Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com

Plan ahead, stay safe

Patience and planning can pay dividends as drivers seek to navigate the closure, and ALDOT is urging drivers to keep safety in mind as they set about navigating the city, for themselves and for the up to 500 workers (subcontractors and operations) who may be working on the project at any given time.

"We realize this is going to be a very challenging situation," Leonard said. "We urge motorists to be patient with us. We urge motorists to drive safely. Don't be distracted while you are driving.

"We will have workers who are out there working and they want to go home just like you want to get home."