Construction will begin July 8 to replace a four-way stop at the intersection of Forum Boulevard and Green Meadows Road with a roundabout.
Forum Boulevard is a four-lane divided road, and construction will be completed in two phases. The west side of the street at that intersection will be closed starting in July for about 65 to 75 days.
After the west side construction is complete, the east side will close. The construction in full is expected to take about 150 days, or until early December, according to a news release from the Columbia Public Works Department. Emery Sapp & Sons, Inc., is the contractor for the project.
Forum will be temporarily narrowed to one lane in each direction to streamline traffic. The street will still be accessible to residents to the west via Doral Drive.
This intersection will be funded by the 2015 capital improvement sales tax, and five public meetings involving interested parties have been held about this change. According to the news release, roundabouts reduce crashes involving serious injuries or deaths by about 80% without harming traffic flow.