The Montrose City Council approved the selection of PBS&J to design intersection improvements for three intersections on Cascade Avenue during its regular meeting Thursday.
The design plans will include a roundabout at Cascade and South First Street and bulb outs at North First and South Second streets and Cascade Avenue.
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The first public meeting is Nov. 18 from noon to 7 p.m. at the Elks Building, downstairs in the Cascade room, said city engineer Jason Ullmann. The second meeting, with any revised designs, is expected in January.
Council also approved entering a grant contract that will aid in the construction of the Cascade improvements, as well as help fund a combined project on Townsend Avenue.
In August, the city was notified that it received a $1.15 million grant from the Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance Program for making improvements to streets and traffic control systems. The money comes from the Local Government Severance Tax Fund and will be combined with funds previously set aside in the city's Capital Improvement Fund to total $2.37 million for the project.
The project will consist of the Cascade improvements, as well as moving traffic signals on Townsend from North and South First streets to North and South Second streets, closing South First Street by the post office and courthouse, and making North First Street only right-in, right-out onto Townsend Avenue. The west side of both North and South First streets at the Townsend intersections are not affected.
The city will bid out the improvements as one construction project, hopefully next year, with construction staring in May or June, Ullmann said.
"The phasing of the project will be part of the design process, so to create the least amount of impact on traffic," he said. "But, least amount doesn't mean zero, unfortunately."
The Townsend design is not part of PBS&J's contract, as designs were done previously and are 90 percent complete, Ullmann said. Those plans will be displayed at the Nov. 18 open house with only "tweaking" suggestions being taken. Open house meetings already took place for the Townsend design in February.
City council also approved a design contract for the Ogden and Woodgate roads intersection design with Buckhorn Geotech. The design will line up Ogden Road through Woodgate Road.
The city will also hold one open house meeting on the design, but a date has not been set. The city is expected to bid out the construction by next summer.
Other city council items
STAFF REPORT
MONTROSE -- The Montrose City Council also considered:
• City council heard recommendations from its river corridor work group on possible policies for a river corridor plan. The work group was formed in May to establish a consistent plan for the city after open house meetings showed split components on the project. See those recommendations in Montrose Daily Press' Sunday edition.
• City Finance Director Shani Wittenberg presented council with an updated monthly sales and use tax report. The report showed that total collections are still below last year's numbers by 11.6 percent as of September's report. The city is 8.9 percent below the 2009 revised budget's projected numbers. The report can be viewed at the city's Web site, www.cityofmontrose.org.
• The city also extended its contract with KECI Colorado until June for construction of a median on Townsend Avenue between Niagara and Church streets. The extension is so that the company can stain discolored concrete constructed in the median, said city engineer Jason Ullmann. The staining will take place next summer as weather needs to be nice, he said.
• The city approved an ordinance making changes to subdivision previsions. The provisions include cul-de-sac lengths, recreation path standards, sidewalk, roadway and highway width standards, and park and open space dedication fees. The fees will increase by about $1,000 per lot to bring the city up to current land and other costs, said Community Development Director Kerwin Jensen.
Skeptic wrote on Nov 6, 2009 7:30 AM: