City May Partner With Homewood To Build New 280 Pedestrian Bridge

MOUNTAIN BROOK, AL - Two of the metro area's best boutique shopping and restaurant villages can be found in Mountain Brook Village and Homewood. The neighborhoods of old Mountain Brook and Homewood's Hollywood neighborhood are rich with history and include some of the most beautiful homes and neighborhood roads in the area. They are joined as Montevallo Road turns into Hollywood Boulevard, and are easily accessible to one another via automobile, but not by foot. That's because U.S 280 runs directly under Hollywood Boulevard at the city limits with a busy exit ramp included.

However, the Mountain Brook City Council this week voted to join with Homewood, Birmingham and Jefferson County in making a pedestrian crossover joining the two cities a reality. A report by Village Living said the cities of Mountain Brook and Homewood would like to create the new pedestrian crossing over U.S. 280 along the north side of the existing overpass at Hollywood Boulevard.

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The project, dubbed the Highway 280 Public Road Cooperative District, would feature an eight-foot-wide bridge, which backers say will cost a little over $1 million. The cities of Homewood and Mountain Brook have agreed to contribute $200,000 each, according to Mountain Brook City Council President Virginia Smith.

The cities would need the approval and help of Birmingham because Union Hill Cemetery at the western end of the overpass and a retail strip to the east are within the Birmingham city limits.

Photo by Michael Seale/Patch