First phase of Old Woodward construction finishes up in downtown Birmingham

Construction on North Old Woodward Avenue in downtown Birmingham is one step away from completion now that city workers have finished paving it and opened it back up to traffic.

“We’re excited about it,” says Paul O’Meara, assistant director of engineering for the city of Birmingham. “We think it will really look nice when it’s done.”

The $2.5-million project is rebuilding the thoroughfare between Oak Street and Ring Road on the north side of downtown. Among the improvements are new sewer and water lines, road medians, sidewalks, crosswalks and a complete repaving of the road.

This is the first of two phases. The next phase focuses on finishing off smaller-ticket items, such as installing new curb and gutters, finishing building the media, planting trees, etc. The entire project is set to wrap up later this fall.

The 10-foot-wide median is large enough to plant trees. The median will also have gaps in it to allow for left-turns. The road has been widened to accommodate diagonal parking. City officials expect the project to be completely finished by November.

Source: Paul O’Meara, assistant director of engineering for the city of Birmingham
Writer: Jon Zemke