Montgomery Hwy, Five Points South

31 goes through Vestavia, and there's a ton of great shopping. There's a great Rave movie theater, which is probably the best one I've ever seen. Lots of great places to eat, too. The traffic, however, is terrible. It's like a little 280 all unto itself. After seven or so, it cools out a bit.

Hwy 31 has everything from mall to the mom and pop stores. It runs from Downtown to south Alabama. It'll help you do your shopping for the holidays, to taking one's loved ones to dinner. The street runs through several towns on surrounding neighborhoods. Rush hour traffic is a nightmare, but it is slow moving due to the traffic lights trying to keep it steady. When a wreck happens you are just out of luck. That's birmingham traffic for you though.

Everyone is in a rush, why one may ask. Its so you can travel Elton B Stephens Expressway and come to a dead stop at malfunction junction. This is a very dangerous part of the expressway. Too many people trying to get nowhere fast. You will see people having blown tires, police chases, and not to mention road work everywhere. Be careful whenever traveling this section of town.

If ever traveling Hwy 280 to go to downtown Birmingham, more often than nt you will travel Red Mountain Expressway. It is a nightmare. Slow traffic, people not knowing how to merge with traffic swiftly, lanes quickly ending, not to mention it is where Hwy 31 merges into. During rush hour, you can almost guarantee an acident daily. Avoid this area whenever possible for your safety and mine.

When I started college, I had an apartment just off HWY 31 in the Vestavia area. For a major road that connects pretty much all the major highways in Birmingham, the traffic is surprisingly moderate. Especially when compared to 280, I personally call 31 "mini-280" because it's got about half the traffic and about half the retail/food opportunities. During rush hour it's all relative, but it's much easier to handle than 280.
31 will take you anywhere from the Galleria to downtown...and beyond. It's a lot like 280 where the shops and restaurants are right off the road, so it's good for people driving through who don't want to worry about getting lost trying to find some lunch!

Highway 31 stretches from downtown Birmingham all the way to South Alabama. You can get virtually anywhere in Birmingham using Highway 31. There are numerous apartment complexes and residential communities located along Highway 31. There is also an endless number of shopping destinations and places of dining, from fast food to upscale cuisine.