Bloomfield Corner roundabout on target

The roundabout under construction at Bloomfield Corner remains on target for a late July completion.

Curran and Briggs Ltd. is the general contractor for the $1.5 million federal and provincial cost-shared project.

The intersection had been the scene of numerous collisions and calls had been mounting for changes prior to the provincial government confirming plans for a roundabout two years ago. Work got underway May 15. There is a curve in Route 2 leading into the intersection and there are also businesses located on the corner.

Design work for the roundabout took those businesses into consideration, said the Department of Transportation’s communications officer Ron Ryder.

There’s a break in the splitter island and a left-turning lane heading west from the roundabout to give westbound traffic access to the parking lot for the gas station and the KFC restaurant. The splitter island on the O’Halloran Road side of the traffic circle,

Ryder said, was shortened to allow traffic in each direction to enter and exit the business lot.

Vehicles leaving the business lot and heading west towards Elmsdale, he said, would first have to exit into the roundabout. The commuter parking lot across the highway on the Mill River East Road will be reopened once construction is completed. Some paving has already been carried out at the roundabout and curbing work and hydra seeding has commenced. Three temporary roads have been built around the construction site.

Flaggers control traffic during construction hours and threeway stops are activated when construction crews are not in attendance.