The next phase of construction on the Broadway Complete Streets project will soon be underway with planned nighttime paving activities.
Starting Sunday, May 19, construction crews will begin grinding and pavement repair on Broadway from 3rd to 24th streets from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Work is expected to be completed by June 3.
These operations require major lane shifts and temporary side road and driveway closures along with parking restrictions. Performing this type of work with daytime traffic presents safety challenges to the construction crew and traveling public.
“Our project team recognizes the construction impacts on nearby residents, and will work to minimize disruption as much as possible,” said Megan Johnson, senior engineer with the Department of Public Works. “Conducting paving operations at night not only provides safer conditions for construction crews and the public, but also minimizes overall disruptions, leading to a quicker completion of the paving process.”
During construction, residents in the area can expect noise, vibrations, dust, and asphalt odors during the time of heavy work.
Lane shifts and lane closures with temporary limitation of access to driveways, cross streets and parking will occur.
While the night paving will happen along the corridor from May 19 to June 3, the work in front of each block will be completed in fewer nights. Staff say that residents can expect about four-five nights for grinding, digouts, and paving, with work lasting a few hours per block each night.
Motorists are advised to drive with caution, follow provided traffic control signage and detours, and expect traffic delays. Drivers should use W and X streets when feasible to avoid congestion.
After the paving is complete, temporary striping will be placed in the final lane configurations, which will include reducing lanes to one lane in each direction and a center turn lane, and new buffered bike lanes.
Construction on additional supportive infrastructure to help traffic circulation with the reduced lanes including permanent striping, signal modifications, a new southbound lane on 16th Street, and a new 29th Street roadway segment will not be fully in place yet. Work will continue along the corridor to complete these elements in the coming months.
The project website will be updated frequently throughout construction. Those interested in receiving updates can sign-up for emails here.
For questions during construction, community members can call the project hotline at 279-236-3799 or email broadwaycompletestreet@gmail.com
