College Parkway to get safety improvements with store opening

Carson City's most dangerous intersection is getting some safety improvements.

Work will begin today on repaving West College Parkway from Carson Street to G.S. Richards Boulevard just west of Super Kmart. The road will also be widened to include an additional west-bound lane in front of Albertson's, which is scheduled to open Wednesday.

Travelers east or west bound on College Parkway face making left turns against a green light. Most accidents at the intersection come as a result of traffic of travelers turning against on-coming traffic.

The $80,000 repaving project also includes a change to the College stop lights to add green arrow lights, which will allow north and south bound traffic a protected turn. The signal will be modified about a week after paving is finished.

"That should improve the safety of the intersection," said John Flansberg, transportation operations manager.

There were 61 accidents at the intersection from Nov. 1998 to Oct. 2001.

West College Parkway will be reduced to one lane in each direction today, Saturday and Monday while paving is completed.

Paving work should be completed Monday before the opening of the 63,000-square-foot Albertson's grocery store and six-pump gas station opens. It is the third Albertson's store in the capital.