West Columbia roundabout project construction begins over a decade after postponement
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Construction of a roundabout at the intersection of South Fairview Road and Chapel Hill Road began Tuesday.
According to a news release from the City of Columbia, the project is intended to improve safety and traffic flow at the intersection. The construction also includes stormwater improvements, along with sidewalk improvements along the north side of Chapel Hill Road east of Fairview Road for pedestrian safety.
This project was first introduced in 2015, but was postponed in 2016 due to resident concerns about safety and pedestrian crossing.
The project was met with pushback from residents when it was reannounced in 2023.
When the city council held an interested parties meeting about the new roundabout, a majority of speakers were against the idea.
After speaking with residents in the neighborhood that is directly affected by the roundabout, none of them said they were for it.
In an email to ABC 17, Bill Edwards, an affected resident, said that he has personally expressed his disagreement with building this roundabout as an unnecessary priority and expense.
“The need for this particular roundabout has not been justified.
· Traffic flow was tremendously improved by adding left-hand turn lanes several years ago. Similar improvement would occur by adding a right-hand turn lane from Chapel Hill onto Fairview. This was discarded outright by the department,” said Edwards.
The first phase of the project, starting Tuesday, will require lane restrictions on Chapel Hill Road and lane closures on Handley Place.
Phase two will require lane restrictions on South Fairview Road and Chapel Hill Road.
Phases three to five will require the closure of South Fairview Road north of Chapel Hill Road.
Chapel Hill Road will remain open to traffic throughout construction, with lane restrictions and temporary closures occurring. Drivers should expect delays and are encouraged to use alternate routes when possible
The estimated cost of the roundabout is $1.5 million, with funding provided by the City’s 2015 quarter-cent Capital Improvement Program sales tax extension.
John Ogan with City of Columbia Public Works said that the city expects a higher volume of traffic in this area in the future.
“We expect over the next 20 years for this roundabout to be much busier than it is now. And we believe that due to the results of this traffic study, a roundabout would be appropriate,” said Ogan.
The city says that this will be a larger roundabout, with 5-foot-wide sidewalks being added in and around the area.
“So a roundabout is going to be needed here. It’s not going to be a smaller roundabout like the one on Rawlins that many people talk about. This is going to be a full roundabout similar to the one that we constructed last year at Route K,” said Ogan.
The project is expected to be completed in winter 2027, weather permitting.
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