ReThink280 is a grassroots effort to educate the community about the proposals currently being introduced to resolve the traffic issues on U.S. 280 and present a more livable alternative. Information and petition signatures that were collected beginning with an effort to stop the proposed elevated highway from Elton B. Stephens (ELB) Expressway to Interstate Highway 459 over two years ago have been incorporated into this new Web site.
However, now a different two-part ALDOT proposal is being discussed: (1) an elevated toll highway for the eastern segment of the U.S. 280 corridor, which extends eastward from I-459 and includes an area in Shelby County, and (2) the addition of four new toll lanes in the western segment (from I-459 to the ELB Expressway), which runs through the cities of Homewood, Mountain Brook, and Vestavia Hills.
ReThink280 has put forth an alternative plan, prepared by nationally known traffic consultant Walter Kulash, that provides the primary benefit promised by the elevated toll road and 10-lane highway -- free-flowing traffic -- at a fraction of the cost and without the devastating effects that an expanded roadway would have on the commercial areas and historic communities through which it would run.
Who Is ReThink280?
ReThink280 is an umbrella group that unites a variety of diverse groups -- local governments, local businesses, community groups, and citizens -- in thoughtful opposition to the ALDOT-planned expansion of U.S. 280. It was begun by Citizens to Save 280, a grassroots group formed in the western segment to promote the consideration of sustainable, common-sense solutions to U.S. 280 traffic congestion that also preserve the health and economic viability of the communities along the corridor. Citizens to Save 280 is chaired by Marc Beaumont of Homewood and Temple Tutwiler of Mountain Brook. Joining with Citizens to Save 280 in this effort is Business for a Viable 280, a group of business and property owners in the eastern corridor of U.S. 280 who understand that the ALDOT plan will kill retail businesses and development in that segment and will damage home values in places like Inverness and Greystone. Business for a Viable 280 is chaired by Chuck Jett, Gary Palmer, and Terry Smith.