Columbia’s $12-million Forum Boulevard project approved by city council

Look for construction of the $12-million voter-approved Forum Boulevard improvement project to start in 2026, after Columbia’s city council gave final approval Tuesday evening.

Columbia voters approved the project in 2015, as part of the capital improvement sales tax extension. The council’s three-page packet notes the project will make numerous improvements on Forum between Chapel Hill and Woodrail Avenue, near Walgreens. Planned improvements include widening Forum by adding a driving lane in each direction to the current two-lane segment of the corridor. City manager De’Carlon Seewood says the city also plans to build a new bridge over the Hinkson creek bridge to ensure that it will not result in a rise of potential flood elevation.

The project also calls for extending the pedestrian tunnel for the MKT trail to accommodate the road improvements, and it also calls for roundabouts at Katy lane and at Woodrail.