Birmingham City Council approves $18 million for BRT project
The city council in Birmingham, Ala., approved $18 million for the Birmingham Xpress bus rapid transit (BRT) project. The funds are part of the city’s $140-million allocation from the American Rescue Plan, which was signed into law in March 2021.
The Birmingham Xpress BRT, which broke ground in December 2020, is Alabama’s first bus rapid transit line and will connect 25 neighborhoods to opportunities and vital services along a 10-mile corridor between Five Points West and Woodlawn in the city.
The project is fully funded through a partnership between the city and the Federal Transit Administration in the U.S. Department of Transportation. The city says the $18 million approved from the American Rescue Plan funds will address overages created by an increase in construction costs due to the pandemic, as well as deadlines connected to the bus rapid transit project.
The Birmingham Xpress route is set to open in 2022 and will replace Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority MAX services that currently operate along the corridor. The project includes new low or no-emission buses, low-floor level boarding and headways of 15 minutes during peak service and 30 minute headways during weekends and non-peak hours.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
