Following study, N. Adams to become three lanes

By Grace Lovins

Birmingham city commissioners, during the Monday, March 4, meeting, reviewed the results of a traffic study conducted on N. Adams Road, ultimately voting to move forward with shrinking the current four lanes to three lanes.

City engineer Melissa Coatta noted the road repavement of N. Adams Road from Madison Street to the northern city limits has been included in the city’s capital improvement plan since the 2019-2020 budget. Coatta explained that the project aims to resurface the road and make some minor sewer and water main improvements.

While construction was budgeted for next fiscal year in the fall, said Coatta, the city budgeted for design engineering to take place this year. As stated in the meeting packet, the engineering department had a traffic study conducted on the area since the existing Adams Road is only three lanes south of Madison Street.

The traffic study, which was reviewed by the multi-modal transportation board in May of last year, recommends a road diet, shrinking Adams Road from four lanes down to three lanes with a center turn lane. According to the study, this could reduce rear-end crashes on Adams Road by 13 to 14 percent.

Coatta explained that the city has already completed a road diet in three separate areas since 2003. In 2003, Adams Road north of Woodward was reduced from three to four lanes to north of Maple Road. In 2016, Maple Road was reduced, and Cranbrook Road was reduced in 2020.

Commissioners Therese Longe and Anthony Long both said they were in favor of the road diet, noting that the city’s previous road diets has worked out well.

Commissioners voted unanimously to direct the city’s engineering department to move forward with the final design of the road project reducing the lanes from four lanes to three lanes.