Aaron Aronov Drive
Aaron Aronov Drive (originally Weibel Drive) is 1.3-mile long four-lane commercial street connecting Fairfield and Midfield.
Construction of the road began with a groundbreaking ceremony on April 4, 1960. The 4-lane thoroughfare was dedicated in August 1961 with the cutting of a ribbon made of steel. Honoree Arthur Weibel, president of U. S. Steel's TCI division, which is headquartered in Fairfield, was joined by Lieutenant Governor Albert Boutwell, Alabama Highway Director Sam Engelhardt, and Mayor of Fairfield Claud Smithson.
The name of the road was changed to honor developer Aaron Aronov after he helped develop Western Hills Mall at Wiebel Drive.
The road is considered part of Jefferson County Road 65 (Minor Parkway), but is not continuous with the section between Alabama State Highway 269 and U.S. Highway 78 north of Fairfield. Grasselli Road parallels Aaron Aronov Drive between Hillview Drive and Dr M. L. K. Boulevard.
In 2005 a Western Hills Mall and Aronov Drive Corridor Revitalization Study was undertaken by the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham. Their recommendations included multi-story office/retail buildings to take advantage of interstate visibility, additional outparcel buildings in the existing surface parking lots, and construction of a new 6-story parking deck.
In 2012 the city of Midfield installed traffic cameras at the intersection of Aaron Aronov Drive and Bessemer Super Highway. In 2014 a brick wall at the entrance to Fairfield's Forest Hills subdivision at Aronov Drive and Ridgewood Avenue was damaged in an automobile collision. It was repaired the following May by students in Marvin Ford's masonry class at Fairfield Preperatory High School.
In 2019 Jefferson County agreed to take over maintenance of Aaron Aronov Drive for the City of Fairfield.
Notable locations
- street begins at Valley Road
- I-59/20 passes over
- 6501: Wright Center / Wright Way Company (2014-), former location of Bagley's Florist, Papa John's Pizza, Shaved Ice Queen
- Kelco Place intersects (east only)
- west side:
- 6621: Dollar Tree #724
- 6625: Sonic Drive-In
- east side:
- 6500–6550: Flintridge Centre shopping center
- 6552: Wells Fargo Bank
- 6554: American Family Care
- 6556: Advance Auto Parts
- 6620: Shell gas station
- west side:
- Hillview Drive (west) / E. J. Oliver Boulevard (east) intersect
- 7070: Belleview Plaza shopping center
- Jackson Hewitt tax preparers
- Sneaky Pete's hot dogs
- Seven Lounge
- 7100:
- former location of Pizza Hut, Urban Smoke Bar & Grill (Draper Mason 2019–2024)
- United Thrift Store
- Subway sandwich shop
- T-Mobile phone reseller
- 7155: Title Loans
- 7157: Express Oil & Tire Engineers
- 7070: Belleview Plaza shopping center
- Dr M. L. King Drive intersects
- west side:
- 7150: Mi Guate Linda, former location of Jet Pep gas station
- 7200: BBVA Compass Midfair Branch
- West Hills Plaza shopping center (built 1954)
- east side:
- 7159: KFC
- 7201: Western Hills Mall
- west side:
- road ends at Bessemer Super Highway, continuing as B. Y. Williams Sr Drive
References
- Lowry, Walton (March 16, 1960) "Fairfield mayor says- Work to start on Wiebel Drive" The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Rewound
- Reed, Jon (May 19, 2015) "Fairfield masonry students rebuild brick wall damaged in wreck late last year." The Birmingham News