Clearing the Tracks: Safer Crossings for Woodlawn and Harris Homes
October 23, 2026
Through R.E.D.E.S.I.G.N. Alabama, BDOT and its partners are working to give Woodlawn and Harris Homes residents safer, clearer routes home.
Picture a weekday morning in Woodlawn.
You're heading to work. The kids need to get to school. Up ahead, the crossing arms come down, and a freight train rolls across the road.
And then you wait.
For families on Birmingham's east side, that wait is nothing new. Freight trains and neighborhood traffic have shared the same crossings here for generations.
The Birmingham Department of Transportation and its partners are leading the work to change that.
Announcing the Next Step at Sloss Furnaces
Birmingham, Trussville, and Norfolk Southern announced R.E.D.E.S.I.G.N. Alabama during a press conference at Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark. The announcement highlighted a shared commitment to reducing delays at rail crossings, improving safety, and creating more reliable connections for residents between Woodlawn and Trussville.
Removing Barriers
Woodlawn sits along a major freight rail corridor that leads to Norfolk Southern's Norris Yard. Several at-grade crossings, where the tracks and the road meet at street level, run through the area.
When a train blocks one of those crossings, it blocks more than traffic. It can stand between a resident and their job. Between a student and their classroom. Between a neighbor in need and the first responders on their way to help.
"Together, we are focused on improving access for residents to get to work, school, and to receive emergency services," said Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin. "This project is about removing barriers and making it easier and safer for people to move through their own neighborhoods."
That's the heart of this work: safety, access, and peace of mind for the people who call these neighborhoods home.
What Is Being Built in Birmingham
R.E.D.E.S.I.G.N. Alabama stands for Reduce Extended Delays; Enhance Safety; and Invest in Growing Neighborhoods. Every piece of the plan points back to those goals.
For Birmingham neighborhoods, the project includes:
- An underpass at Brussels Avenue, so drivers can travel beneath the tracks instead of waiting at the gates
- A pedestrian underpass near 59th Street, giving people on foot a safer way across
- An extension of 5th Avenue South to Brussels Avenue, with a new sidewalk along 5th Avenue from 56th Street to Brussels Avenue
- Closing nine at-grade rail crossings between Woodlawn and Trussville and routing traffic to the new grade-separated crossing
Further east, a two-mile siding track extension into Norris Yard and a new bridge at Mary Taylor Road will give trains room to meet and pass away from public roads. That means fewer trains stopped across crossings closer to home.
What This Means for Woodlawn and Harris Homes
A clear way home. When the project is complete, Woodlawn residents will have unimpeded access to and from their neighborhoods and homes.
Safer trips on foot. The new pedestrian underpass and 5th Avenue sidewalk create dedicated, safer routes for neighbors who walk to work, school, the bus stop, or a friend's house.
Help that can get through. Fewer blocked crossings mean fewer obstacles between residents and the emergency services they count on.
The tracks will keep carrying freight. Soon, they won't keep Woodlawn waiting
