Roundabout construction kicks off on Vandiver Drive, Parker Street

Workers are scheduled to begin construction of a roundabout at Vandiver Drive and Parker Street.

The $900,000 project was approved in early July after garnering strong support from the public.

It is being funded with the 2018 County Road Tax Rebate and the 2015 Capital Improvement Sales Tax.

The project received widespread positive support during our public involvement process,” Public Works Director David Nichols said. “The roundabout at this location fits in very well with Vision Zero and our complete streets approach to capital improvements. Because this is a busy commercial street, we’ve staged construction in a manner to avoid a complete closure of Vandiver and minimize total disruption time to the public.”

The design of the roundabout aims to accommodate larger commercial vehicles and school buses and will include splitter islands and sidewalks.

Street lighting and an extra 300 feet will be added to the west side of the roundabout on Vandiver.

About 700 feet on both sides of Parker Street will close during construction of the roundabout.

One lane will stay open in each directions, along with a traffic signal on each end controlling the flow of traffic.

Access to Parker Street will be closed on both sides of Vandiver Drive.

“We ask drivers to stay alert even with the alternating signal in case someone gets caught in the middle as the alternating signals change,” Construction Superintendent David Fennewald said. “The contractor will do everything they can to prevent this but it is ultimately each driver’s responsibility to drive prudently and to remain attentive and patient with other drivers.”

The City of Columbia cited studies that show roundabouts maintain traffic flow while reducing crashes by 40 percent, injury crashes by nearly 80 percent, and fatal/disabling crashes by 90 percent.

From 2011 to 2015, there were 14 reported collisions at the intersection of Vandiver Drive and Parker Street with six reported injuries.