A turning lane for drivers travelling south on Voght Street where it intersects with Nicola Avenue is now complete, aside from some minor landscaping.
The project was commissioned by the City of Merritt back in May, after they accepted a bid from C.G.L. Contracting Limited for $180,413.
Originally planned to be operational by the summer, the city’s chief administrative officer Shawn Boven said the delay was due to some parts not being available.
“The contractor came, got going, was doing great, then needed those parts and we had to wait for them, which was kind of a shame,” he said.
The delay caused a $7,000 addition to the original price tag because the city had to rent digital sign boards for the extra months of construction.
Standing from his vantage point at Merritt’s city hall beside the intersection, Boven said the turning lane seems to be effective in directing traffic.
“With the straight through and right turn lane formalized, people are just going through and turning right so that is flowing very well,” he said. “And then one, two or three cars will come to the left hand turn and find their chance to turn.”
The real benefit of the designated turning lane, Boven said, is better flow of traffic. He said the idea is that vehicles should no longer be backed up, side by side, to A&W.
“This is supposed to solve that problem, and we will see. It appears to be flowing quite well from what I can see,” he said, noting he has already heard complaints there is no left turn signal. “That would have basically doubled the scope and cost of the project.”
The turn lanes for Voght Street were originally supposed to be part of the work that installed new medians and landscaping along Nicola Avenue last year, but bids received in the past year came in higher than the city’s cost estimates.
