MARINA >> The Imjin Parkway Widening and Roundabout Project in Marina is working toward reopening key points along the construction route including Abrams Drive and Imjin Road by the end of this month.

The Imjin Parkway Widening and Roundabout Project is a two-year effort to widen and increase safety on a traffic artery for about 30,000 daily motorists moving between the Salinas area and the Monterey Peninsula.

Night work on the project will occur on May 29, prompting the closure of Imjin Parkway in order to perform work required to shift traffic at Abrams Drive so that the north side will reopen to right in/right out traffic. But Abrams Drive on the south will be closed to all traffic to construct the new roadway and south half of the roundabout. Imjin Road will reopen to right in/right out traffic and the flow will be shifted from the north side of the roundabout to the newly constructed south side of the roundabout. Activities will include moving concrete barriers, striping removal and new striping for the revised traffic flows. Work hours are anticipated to be from 7 p.m. — 6 a.m.

Impacts from the activities will include noise from the equipment used to relocate concrete barriers and large equipment used for striping. Portable lights will be used to provide adequate lighting for operations on the roadway, but every effort will be made to avoid light impacts for adjacent residences. The traffic shift will allow for the removal and replacement of temporary paving currently in use in the area east of Imjin Road to the western project limits, and to construct the final first layer of asphalt for the roadway section for the north roadbed and in the middle of the roadways from the roundabout eastward.

The project affects 1.7 miles of Imjin Parkway from Reservation Road to Imjin Road and will include the construction of four roundabouts and increase the stretch of roadway to four lanes, with completion estimated to be June 2026.

From now through May 30, day work on the project will be to continue grading of base rock for the south side of Imjin Parkway roadway section between Marina Heights Drive and the Shell station driveway, continue earthwork/grading and base rock for the south side of Imjin Parkway roadway section from Preston Drive half roundabout to Reservation Road, complete electrical conduits, irrigation service lines, bio swales, drainage, sidewalk and curb and gutter at Abrams Drive northside, install revised striping and transition traffic between Preston Drive and Abrams Drive northside to transition traffic to the north roadbed scheduled for the night of May 29. This will coincide with reopening Abrams Drive northside to right-in/right-out traffic movements, install revised striping and transition traffic near Imjin Road to the south roadbed and re-open Imjin Road to right-in/right-out traffic movements, also scheduled for the night of May 29, pave the bike/pedestrian path near Abrams Drive and continue the environmental monitoring of contractor activities job wide.

The construction of the Imjin Parkway project aims to complete all earthwork — cuts and fills — by the end of June with the reopening of Abrams Drive southside in August.

Traffic control is at an enforceable speed limit of 25 mph through the construction zone, while the recommended speed through the roundabouts during construction is 15 mph.

The Imjin Parkway project moved into phase two in early March with traffic now moving on the newly constructed north side of the parkway as work focuses on the south side on its way to project completion.

Once phase two is complete, phase three will be miscellaneous roadwork, including demolishing temporary paving, roadway paving and temporary striping, drainage utilities and lighting and grading.

Phase four will be final paving — top lift — and striping.

Upon completion, the Imjin Parkway Widening and Roundabout Project will add on-street buffered bike lanes, stormwater treatment areas, retaining walls and a sound wall.

The improvements aim to benefit commuters who travel through the corridor, as well as those who live along Imjin Parkway at Cal State Monterey Bay and the neighboring homes in Marina Heights, Sea Haven and Preston Park.

The city of Marina is the lead agency for the project, which is also the second regional Transportation Agency for Monterey County Measure X project to be built. Measure X was the November 2016 ballot measure approved by 67.7% of Monterey County voters for the Transportation Agency’s Transportation Safety and Investment Plan.

The Imjin Parkway Widening and Roundabout Project’s $40.5 million in funding sources include $2 million from Marina generated from development impact fees, around $18.2 million from Transportation Agency for Monterey County’s Measure X and about $20.2 million from California’s SB1 local partnership program.

To stay informed about the Imjin Parkway Widening and Roundabout Project, visit the project website at www.imjinparkway.com or call Edrie De Los Santos, city of Marina, at (831) 884-1212.