Camas roundabout nearly ready for partial traffic

The Lake Road-Everett Street traffic roundabout project in Camas is “quickly approaching the phase where traffic will be partially shifted into the roundabout,” Camas Public Works Director Steve Wall told Camas city councilors and Mayor Barry McDonnell at a remote July 20 workshop meeting. “The initial schedule showed that happening by the end of July. We’re probably a week or two behind that (due to COVID-19 shutdowns), but the contractor is doing a great job and making up as much time as they can.”

The contractors will begin pouring the concrete roadway over the next few weeks, Wall added.

The roundabout will replace the traffic signal at Lake Road and Everett Street, a critical intersection connecting the north and south shores of Lacamas Lake with Camas’ historic downtown that Camas engineers have said must be redesigned to accommodate heavier traffic demands.

City leaders say the future traffic roundabout will reduce traffic congestion and improve safety for motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists and allow better pedestrian access to nearby recreational areas. The roundabout will have flashing beacon lights in the crosswalks to help pedestrians cross safely.