The Columbia Public Works Department hosted an open house Wednesday night at Mill Creek Elementary School to present design concepts on a future road project.
Phase three of the Scott Boulevard road construction project is set to begin in 2016. The department plans to add four miles of new sidewalk and nine storm mitigation basins from Vawter School Road to Route KK.
Other highlights include expanding the road to five lanes and building a new bridge over Mill Creek.
Columbia Street Manager Scott Bitterman said safety was Public Works’ number one concern when planning the project.
“It’ll be a much safer roadway," he said. "It’ll be an engineered road. The hills and valleys are very steep right now, and we’ll take those out, smooth those curves out so that it’s much safer to drive down the roadway."
Those who attended the meeting expressed mostly positive feedback. Columbia resident Edward White said he has high hopes for the project.
“I live in that area so I commute on that road on that section of Scott Boulevard every day," White said. "So it will affect me directly. And it would be nice to have a nice smooth straight road and one that will handle the traffic that has definitely increased in that area.”
The project has a projected cost of about $11 million. Voters approved a fourth of a cent Capital Improvement Tax in 2005 to help fund the project. The city hopes to complete construction by the year 2017.
