Washington’s City Council, during its meeting Monday, is scheduled to consider a Planning Board recommendation regarding the proposed 15th Street improvements project.

During its Aug. 23 meeting, the Planning Board heard several people express their concerns with the proposed $16.2 million project, which calls for converting the existing multi-lane road into a four-lane, raised-median divided road. The project is designed to improve overall traffic flow and traffic safety. Preliminary project designs are on the project website — www.ncdot.gov/projects/publicmeetings — for public review and comment.

The project also includes median breaks for left turns as traffic volumes warrant. U-turn locations will be provided at several locations.

At the Aug. 23 meeting, board members heard business owners and property owners in the proposed project area say the traffic islands at the eastern end of the project would result in a “hardship” on some businesses in that area and the proposed medians and left-turn-only lanes would create similar problems for businesses on the western end of the proposed project.

N.C. Department of Transportation spokesmen have said the project’s goal is to reduce the number of vehicles crashes on 15th 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 NCDOT figures.

Most of the speakers at the Aug. 23 meeting said they believe a modified project that addresses their concerns can achieve the project’s goal to make that section of 15th Street safer.

The board recommended the City Council notify all property owners and business owners adjacent to the project area and conduct a public hearing on the proposed project so they could receive information about the project.

In early August, NCDOT conducted an informational meeting on the project at the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s regional office in Washington. The proposed project runs from U.S. Highway 17 Business to U.S. Highway 264 (near Vidant Beaufort Hospital).