Roundabout construction underway

Drivers will experience significant traffic impacts in the area of Northwest Sixth Avenue and Norwood Street, where crews recently began work on the construction of a new roundabout.

According to information provided by Camas Project Manager Jim Hodges, during stage one of the project traffic through the area is being reduced to one lane in each direction. In addition, the eastbound Highway 14 off ramp is reduced to one lane, and the westbound Northwest Sixth Avenue on ramp to Highway 14 is reduced to one lane beginning at Logan Street. The speed limit in the project area is 5 to 20 mph.

Temporary traffic signs, barrels, cones, and a reader board are being used to alert drivers of the construction activity.

“Overall, motorists in all directions will have to reduce their speeds significantly to navigate through the work area,” Hodges said. “The need to stop traffic completely to accommodate work should be infrequent, and will require the contractor to use flaggers.”

The $2.037 million contract to build the roundabout was awarded to McDonald Excavating, Inc., of Washougal in April. It includes construction of a one-lane roundabout with asphalt drive lanes at Northwest Sixth Avenue and Norwood Street, as well as decorative street light poles, a sidewalk to Forest Home Park at Logan Street, and the relocation of currently existing banner poles.

The site is a major thoroughfare where traffic enters and exits Highway 14 to the west and east. Sixth Avenue takes travelers who have exited Highway 14 east past landmarks including Forest Home Park and the paper mill, and into the historic downtown shopping district.

Currently, no traffic control devices exist at the major four-way intersection.

Funding for the roundabout project, in addition to other Sixth Avenue corridor improvements, is being gleaned from limited tax general obligation bonds, approved by the City Council in 2014.

The traffic changes for stage one of the roundabout project are expected to be in place for approximately six weeks. The roundabout will take a total of five to six months to complete.

For more information about the project, contact Hodges at 817-7234 or jhodges@cityofcamas.us; Justin Monsrud, project inspector, at 817-7232, or jmonsrud@cityofcamas.us; or Jim Carothers, engineering manager at 817-7230 or jcarothers@cityofcamas.us.