Now that the first roundabout at First Street and the SR29 off & on-ramps is open, we look to the near future for even more exciting traffic improvements. The contractor is currently scheduled to open the second roundabout at First Street and California Boulevard the second week of December. When that occurs, the directions of First and Second Streets will need to be flipped. They will remain as one-way streets, just being switched to First Street being eastbound into downtown and Second Street being westbound towards Browns Valley.
To accommodate this, the traffic controls at the intersection First Street/Jefferson Street and Second Street/Jefferson Street need to be modified to allow for the change in direction. The modifications include removing the concrete medians, paving, striping new medians and installing new traffic signal equipment. City Streets crews have already removed the concrete median and are prepared to re-stripe the intersection when the time comes. A city hired electrical contractor, St. Francis Electric, is now working at the intersections installing the necessary traffic signal hardware. This will require a long weekend of intensive work during such time the signals will be turned off and the intersections will be regulated by temporary stop signs. That work is scheduled for this weekend of November 22, 2019.
Then, on or about December 11th, the roundabout contractor, electrical contractor & City crews will combine their efforts to orchestrate the traffic maneuver known as the Couplet Flip, reversing the two one-way streets. At the same time, Napa’s second roundabout will go into action at First Street & California Boulevard.