Roundabout work at busy intersection still 2 years away
It’s been six years since a consultant recommended a traffic roundabout for the congested intersection of Broadway, Albany Avenue and Col. Chandler Drive. And it looks like it will be another two before the project begins.
Gina DiSarro, public information officer for the state Department of Transportation, said the target time period for the start of construction is the spring of 2019.
“The project is actively undergoing design,” she said.
DiSarro did not provide an estimated completion date.
A roundabout for the multipronged traffic
junction first was recommended in a February 2011 report by consulting firm Fitzgerald & Halliday Inc., and the estimated cost at that time was $4.5 million.
The project is to be funded by the state’s Transportation Improvement Program.
In May 2012, the Kingston Common Council endorsed the study that recommended the reconfiguration, and the city lawmakers urged state transportation officials to move ahead with the plan.
Ulster County Planner Dennis Doyle said at the time that the roundabout proposal was favored by
the county Planning Office and a committee comprising residents, business owners and preservationists.
The roundabout would replace numerous traffic signals at the intersection.
At a December 2015 public meeting about the proposal, some attendees raised concerns about how the roundabout could impact pedestrian and bicyclist safety, as well as sewer lines beneath Albany Avenue.
The Fitzgerald & Halliday report said a faster and cheaper alternative to the roundabout would be spending $640,000 for improvements along Albany Avenue, including new pavement, drainage upgrades, new curbs and sidewalks, new lighting and better traffic signals.