During its meeting Monday, Washington’s City Council is scheduled to receive an update concerning the proposed changes to a section of West 15^th Street.

Earlier this year, City Manager Brian Alligood told the council that the N.C. Department of Transportation had completed its preliminary design for the project.

The plan is somewhat different than one proposed last year. The City Council’s formal approval of the revised plan came during one of its meetings in February. The project’s roots go back to 2000, according to Dwayne Alligood, a spokesman for the N.C. Department of Transportation. Alligood is slated to provide the update to the council.

The revised plan calls for improvements in the section of 15^th Street from Carolina Avenue (U.S. Highway 17 Business) to the Pierce Street area. The proposed improvements call for a divided road with a median separating the travel lanes.

The DOT spokesman said the project’s goal is to reduce the number of vehicles crashes on that section of 15^th Street. Those crashes on that section of road occur about three times more frequently than crashes on similar roads in other areas of the state, according to DOT figures.

“What that would do, we would put a center median in there and provide turn lanes at signalized intersections. If there are places in between where we can provide a crossover, then we would do that. That would be a channelized crossover. It wouldn’t be a full opening. It would be where you could make a left turn off the main line,” Dwayne Alligood told the council in January.

“What it’s going to do — they’re going to add a center lane. You’ll have two lanes an each side, plus the center lane. The center lane, instead of it being like the suicide lane you have now on (U.S. Highway) 17 Business, it would be restricted left-turn lane. So, it’s channelized,” the city manager said in September. “Greenville has some. … You get into it and you can only turn left.”

In September, the city manager said DOT was preparing to meet with business owners along that corridor to talk about the project. Some of those business owners have expressed concerns about the project reducing customer traffic in the project area. The city manager was not sure when that meeting would take place.

Earlier this year, Dr. Timothy Klugh, with the eyecarecenter in Washington, and Pat Griffin, a city businessman, expressed those and other concerns.

Griffin said some property owners along the segment of street proposed for the project oppose the proposal. They also fear it would harm their businesses, he said.

“Some of them have said they would take it to court if they have to,” Griffin said.

The council meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the Council Chambers in the Municipal Building, 102 E. Second St. To view the council’s agenda for a specific meeting, visit the city’s web­site at www.washingtonnc.gov, click “Government” then “City Council” heading, then click “Meeting Agendas” on the menu to the right. Then click on the date for the appropriate agenda.