COLUMBIA — Road work crews are scheduled to begin construction Monday on a median at College Avenue near Ash and Windsor streets.
The median is a part of GetAbout Columbia's Bike Boulevard project, which has restriped parts of Ash and Windsor streets to prioritize bicycle traffic over motor vehicles.
GetAbout manager Ted Curtis said drivers can expect lanes to be shut down in the area during normal working hours this week. At least one lane of traffic will be open in each direction.
Curtis said work on the median will be finished by Friday, weather permitting.
The median will provide an island to help bicycles and pedestrians safely cross College Avenue, Curtis said. Raised concrete will form the northern and southern ends of the median. Bollards, or flexible posts, will mark the middle portion, allowing only bicycles to pass through.
By design, the median will also limit motor vehicle traffic on Ash and Windsor streets.
Once the median is in place, no traffic from College Avenue will be permitted to turn onto Windsor Street. Only southbound traffic will have access to Ash Street.
Motor vehicle traffic from both Ash and Windsor streets will only be able to turn right onto College Avenue.
Curtis said other final details of the Bike Boulevard project, such as signage, should be finished by the end of the week. Two street murals are scheduled to be painted on the boulevard in the fall, but Curtis said no dates were set.