By MOLLY DAVIDSON / Staff Writer

HOOVER—A project to add more lanes to Valleydale Road between U.S. 31 and Riverchase Parkway East has taken another step forward. The Hoover City Council approved a resolution allowing Mayor Gary Ivey to execute a right-of-way agreement with the Alabama Department of Transportation for the project during a Jan. 4 meeting.

The three-quarter-mile segment of Valleydale Road encompassed by the project lies partially in the city of Hoover and partially in Pelham.

A joint effort between Hoover, Pelham, ALDOT and the United States Department of Transportation, the Hoover-sponsored project will widen the stretch of Valleydale Road to five lanes, four travel lanes and one center turn lane.

According to the resolution, the estimated right-of-way acquisition cost is slightly more than $3.6 million, with roughly $2.89 million funded by the government and $722,031.20 by the city of Hoover.

Pelham previously agreed to fund the electricity to power a traffic signal at the intersection of Valleydale Road and Business Center Drive.

The Valleydale Road widening project is part of a transportation improvement plan for the Birmingham-area. According to the resolution, “it is in the public interest for the state and the city to cooperate toward the implementation of the transportation improvement program.

The resolution approved by the Hoover City Council on Jan. 4 only covers the right-of-way acquisition phase of work. The ALDOT plan does not include a construction start date.