By Max Goodwin
The City Council Transportation Committee approved $325,579 for McClure Engineering Co. to complete the redesign of Holmes Rd. from 135th Street to E. Blue Ridge Blvd. This brings the total from the City Council to McClure Engineering for the Holmes Rd. project to $902,000.
Nicholas Bosentto, City Engineer, explained during Wednesday’s City Council Transportation, Infrastructure, and Operations Committee meeting that this is an amendment to the design of the existing contract with McClure Engineering Company. The project’s design was reconsidered after finding the plan would cost too much in utilities and use too much land, so the size of the project was changed.
The redesign will also include the intersection of E. Blue Ridge Blvd. and Holmes Rd. to reduce wait times at the traffic lights. The new design includes sidewalks and a shared-use path. It is meant to improve traffic flow and make the area safer for pedestrians.
“I would just say I’m excited to see this project moving,” said Johnathan Duncan, 6th District Councilman. “People walk on that road all the time, and it’s dangerous.”
The previous design would have included the extension from 137th Street to 135th Street, but this amendment removed it. The design, which has been in the works for the past four years was expected to be completed by 2021. In 2018, the project was budgeted at $7.5 million with plans for completion in 2023/24. But it did not hit its 5-year timetable, resulting in the projects reintroduction into the city budget in March.
The design tasks within the amendment passed by the transportation committee include adjusting pedestrian paths that affect the railroad and designing future compatibility for a Quiet Zone.
Bosenetto said $10 million in GO Bond funding is going toward the Holmes Rd. reconstruction. The design is expected to be finished by January 2025. A public meeting will be held this summer to present the 60% of the design that is currently complete.