City shares future improvement plans for Nifong and Forum Boulevards

On Thursday, the City of Columbia Public Works Department shared its progress on two projects expected to improve a south Columbia neighborhood.

City leaders met with people about the Nifong Boulevard Corridor Improvement Project and improvements to Forum Boulevard at Gentry Middle School.

A portion of the $12.3 million Nifong project is expected to begin in 2020 to improve Nifong from Providence Road to Willowcreek Lane.

Crews also plan to widen Forum Boulevard at the same time from Green Meadows Road to Nifong. Project engineers said these projects are expected to help improve traffic flow.

“There is a lot of congestion now and a lot of safety issues that are caused by congestion and we are really trying to make this a safety improvement to get people home faster and safer, pedestrians and all road users,” said engineer Ben Ross.

The Nifong project is expected to cost the city $12.3 million and will be funded from the 2015 Capital Improvement Sales Tax. The Forum project is expected to cost the city under $1.2 million and will come from city, county and state funds.

For more on the Nifong project, click here.

For more on the Forum project, click here.