Construction of Duncan’s first roundabout is expected to begin this year.
The Cairnsmore roundabout has been estimated to cost approximately $800,000, which includes design and construction, and it will be located at the intersection of Government, College, and Cairnsmore streets, adjacent to the Fishbowl Cafe.
It has been determined that the roundabout is needed to improve traffic circulation and safety at the busy intersection.
Duncan city council was asked by staff at Tuesday’s council meeting to increase the budget for the design of the roundabout from $80,000 to $90,000, to be paid for from funding earmarked for the city from the federal gas tax fund.
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A staff report by Emmet McClusker, Duncan’s director of public works and development services, said five submissions were received to the city’s request-for-proposals for the design and tendering of the roundabout.
He said the proposal submissions ranged from $52,188 to $142,708 for the design.
“Staff have reviewed the submissions in detail and have selected a preferred proponent at a cost of $81,767, plus likely optional components, for a total of up to $90,000,” McClusker said.
“The increase [in the design budget] can be incorporated into the 2020 budget before the five-year financial plan bylaw is presented to council for consideration. Moving forward on a timely basis with the award of the design contract is critical for the construction of this project in 2020.”
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In 2013, the city hired the Boulevard Transportation Group to undertake a review and preliminary design of the roundabout, and it was determined at that time that a roundabout would be feasible at the intersection in which three streets meet.
In 2019, the city and Queen Margaret’s School entered into a memorandum of understanding which included a commitment from the city to grant access to the school from the roundabout to coincide with the school’s ongoing construction and renovation project.
The request for proposals for the design was issued early in 2020, and construction of the roundabout is scheduled to start in June.
The approximately $700,000 construction job will be funded from a combination of the federal gas tax, the city’s police bridging capital and development cost charges.
robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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