BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Pedestrians and runners who brave the narrow Hollywood Boulevard overpass across U.S. 280 between Homewood and Mountain Brook could soon see long-awaited safety improvements, as local leaders move forward with plans to add protected pedestrian access to the busy crossing.
The existing bridge, marked by the iconic “Hollywood” sign on 280, has for years been a key but uncomfortable link between the two suburbs, drawing steady foot traffic despite tight lanes and fast-moving cars. Community advocates, including now-Homewood Mayor Jennifer Andress, have spent nearly a decade pushing to make the bridge more walkable and bike-friendly as part of a broader effort to improve neighborhood connectivity.
Officials say the current project will add protected pedestrian access and other safety features at the overpass, which sits within Birmingham city limits but connects Homewood’s historic Hollywood neighborhood to Mountain Brook’s commercial districts. The bridge improvements build on years of work involving multiple jurisdictions — Homewood, Mountain Brook, Birmingham, Jefferson County and the Alabama Department of Transportation — to address what residents have called a dangerous gap in the local walking and running network.
State Rep. David Faulkner, a Republican from Mountain Brook, helped secure an early $15,000 community grant in 2018 to design the Hollywood Boulevard pedestrian bridge project, calling it a “textbook example of regional cooperation” intended to protect hundreds of pedestrians, runners and cyclists who use the route each week. Andress, who lives in the Hollywood neighborhood, has described remaking the bridge as her “dream project” and said last fall that construction documents are “shovel-ready” and that leaders are actively fundraising, with backing from local, county, state and federal partners.
The renewed push for pedestrian access comes as Birmingham-area cities pour money into trails and sidewalks, from the Shades Creek Greenway to new over-street crossings in Vestavia Hills and along major corridors. Supporters say a safer Hollywood overpass would knit together downtown Homewood, Mountain Brook Village and nearby residential neighborhoods, offering an alternative to car travel in an area choked with traffic and emissions from U.S. 280.
No firm construction timeline has been publicly announced, but local leaders say the political and financial pieces for the Hollywood project are closer than ever to falling into place — a sign that one of Birmingham’s most notorious pinch points for pedestrians may finally be getting its long-promised makeover.