The busy intersection of College Street and South 19th Avenue will be closed for two weeks beginning March 30 while crews work to connect underground pipes, utilities and traffic-light electronics.
The construction contractor, Knife River, will hold a public meeting this Thursday, March 19, to outline detours and schedules, according to Josh Walter, spokesperson for the company’s mountain region office in Belgrade.
“There will be three contractors working on site during the closure to accomplish a major amount of work in a short time frame,” Walter said. “Assuming the weather cooperates and work goes as planned, we should have the intersection back open by April 11th.”
The intersection, at the northwest corner of the Montana State University campus, has to be closed so construction crews can connect the north-south and the east-west underground concrete pipes that were installed this winter, Walter said. The 60-inch pipes are needed to reroute an irrigation ditch.
Message boards will be posted on “all four ends of the project” starting this Wednesday to alert drivers to coming changes.
“Once the underground work is completed at the intersection, the rest of the year will be devoted to road re-construction and widening, starting on the east half of 19th Avenue from College Street south to Kagy Boulevard,” Walter said.
When work is complete, South 19th will be a four-lane road with “turn pockets”; dedicated turn lanes at major intersections; new signals, street lighting, sidewalks and bicycle lanes; and better stormwater drainage.
Thursday’s meeting begins at 9 a.m. at the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks Building, 1400 S. 19th. All are welcome.
Knife River intends to publish a map of the construction zone, planned detours and weekly updates in the Chronicle, Walter said.
For more information, visit http://www.19thbozeman.com or call 388-6832, ext. 0.
