Birmingham Freeway Tour: East/South

[ivanvladmom]

why are you speeding or are you freewayjim or is the camera fastfording

[336kush]

Freeway Jim something about you is scary and approachable at the same time.....Transportation is your niche! Thats your gift great videos...so refreshing and almost vacation like without leaving your computer chair....hehe....neteewho.....­More Boston MA please thanks!!!

[Freewayjim]

@336kush: Ah, really I'm a nice guy once you get to know me.

Probably won't be going back to Boston for a while though.

[Jean1juan]

@Freewayjim Whated limit at the end, when you go under the traffic lights? Is it still Highway speeds then?

[Freewayjim]

@Jean1juan Not sure, something like 45 or 55 at that point.

[misuterec]

Nice video, as we expect from you. And as usual, music background (rock) fits perfectly with driving(for me...)

But Jim, that silver Corolla was the same one with that in previous vid, racing with you?:))

It was "scratching" my eyes cause i drive same kind of Corolla and i am curious if this car is also in trouble with recall, in States

[Freewayjim]

@misuterec : Thanks, no he wasn't racing with me (I should have asked him, lol), just and erratic driver I guess.

[Jean1juan]

@Freewayjim How come I-65 had traffic coming both ways at 1:35

[TaylorMMontgomery]

love it! :) birmingham born and raised here. didn't you just love 280? ;) haha.

[autopreneur]

traffic is usually very congested on 280; in fact, it's the most congested road in Alabama.

Nice video, btw

[DanDFriend]

Hey, Jim. I love taking virtual drives like this around places, and your videos are good to do that with.

I just have one question, what do you drive?

[Freewayjim]

Thanks,

On this video I drove my Acura TL, on the longer trips I take my wife's Acura MDX.

[rwells2265]

Slight correction: while it's the first three-level stack built in Birmingham, construction on it began in 1968-ish, and was open by 1971.

It ended at 1st Ave. N. for years, and the final link to I-20/59 opened in 1987.

Alabama in many places IS like a road sign time warp. Many of the I-65 overheads south of 20/59 are the original ca. 1972 button copy.

[Freewayjim]

Not to mention the black signs.

Thanks for the info on the stack/flyover, that's what I get for trusting someone from the area :)

[rwells2265]

I just happened upon a newspaper article about the opening of Red Mountain Expressway.

The exact date: April 16, 1970. :-)

[Freewayjim]

Good stuff, thanks.

there was not much on wikipedia about it's history.

[integgy95]

I've never been to Alabama but would love to take a ride down there sometime.. Gotta get outta Boston lol..

[Freewayjim]

If you do, stop and see Talladega Superspeedway off I-20 (Exit 173), the largest closed oval track in the world. It's a pretty impressive complex in the middle of nowhere, even if you don't follow NASCAR.

[autopreneur]

@integgy95: or, if u wanna shop, head to the Galleria (I-459, exit 13)

[Bryant5493]

Nice video, Jim.

Good reaction times to the folks that were merging and the fool that entered your lane for no reason.

[edgexxi]

Thanx for the song Jim, I haven't heard that one since my hs days. Safe travels, my friend.

[uptownbronze]

Great vid, except for dat fool bogarting everything. Looking forward to ur next one. UB.

[ScrewdUPClickV2]

very nice

[CosmoPhotography]

From my first visit to Alabama in 2003 at Talladega, I've always left with the impression that it's a state caught in a time warp. The signs and overpasses are old and decaying, respectively. After driving I-85 and I-65 this past summer on the way out west, that is some ROUGH and bumpy concrete!

Great video! And, that guy was an asshole at 2:34. I absolutely loathe people who act like they're the only person on the road.

[Freewayjim]

Thanks!

You are right Alabama to some extent but there are some nice parts. The area around I-65/I-459 (Hoover) is no different than any affluent Mall/Retail area in Metro Atlanta except that there are more hills in the Birmingham area.

[FreewayBrent]

And holy cow at 2:34! What was that driver thinking (or in this case, clearly was *not* thinking)?!?

[FreewayBrent]

I concur with Eluko79 on the old overpasses.

US 280 is actually more interesting than I ever imagined it to be. Never seen pictures of that freeway, either.

[Freewayjim]

You'll like the next video then, it shows US-280 in the opposite direction in which the lighting was much better.

While I like old overpasses in general I don't like Alabama's old overpasses, U-G-L-Y

[aswchris]

Very interesting, US 280 in particular.

Is there ever real congestion in Birmingham? (I mean stationary traffic for some length). Traffic counts aren't very high and 6 to 8 lanes seems adequate.

[Freewayjim]

I've been there about a dozen times and never encountered any heavy congestion.

[fgjr96way]

The elavated interstates around downtown are great senic views of the city

[NitekMuscle]

Too bad they serve as physical barriers between the CBD and other parts of the city.

[eluko79]

Excellent! I like the old overpasses down there.