The groundbreaking ceremony for construction to begin on the Newhall Roundabout project is scheduled for Tuesday, July 23 at 10 a.m.

“We are going to have a groundbreaking for the roundabout,” said Mayor Bob Kellar, “Ultimately it’s going to be a great attribute to what we’ve been working on for so many years in the downtown Newhall area.”

Construction will begin July 22, and for the first week work will be done only at night.

The construction site is at the corner of Main Street and 5th Street in Old Town Newhall.

“It will be a very good project for the city,” said, Balvender Sandhu, project manager for the Newhall Roundabout, “It will definitely improve the Main Street area and connect Old Town Newhall all the way to Hart Park.”

There will be a detour on Newhall Ave. coming from Highway 14 onto Railroad Ave. and  Lyons Ave.

“We’ve gone through all the outreaches with the public and local businesses,” said Sandhu, “We’ve put in quite a bit of effort to let the public know that the project is coming and that it will help to alleviate traffic flow.”

There will be a closure on Newhall Avenue between 4th and 6th Streets starting Monday, July 29. Construction during this time will be 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and is expected to last six to eight months.

“We think the first couple of weeks the Newhall avenue closure will require some time to adjust traffic flow,” said Sandhu, “Expect some delays use alternative routes.”

Once the detour begins traffic flow will return to normal within two weeks, said Sandhu.

Construction on the Newhall Roundabout also plans to improve aesthetic of the area.

“There is a separate process for the art piece at the center which is currently being worked out with the art commision,” said Sandhu, “At this point it’s on the process of figuring out what needs to go there.”

– David Mariuz