Completion is just around corner at Columbus Circle.

The city's $20-million Columbus Circle project that was initially to be finished in conjunction with the Time Warner Center's completion is moving ahead.

Working double shifts, the city is hoping that the street-improvement portion of the project will be completed by the Republican National Convention at the end of next month.

Planning for the project began three years ago, with construction commencing last spring.

Columbus Circle LLC that licked in $1 million for the design of the project awaits the circle's completion, said Bruce Warwick, president of the Columbus Circle LLC that invested $345 million for the former Coliseum site and $1.7 billion to construct the Time Warner Center.

"We had a deep interest in the circle, in its eventual design and how it would work with the rest of the area because of our considerable investment in the Time Warner Center," Warwick said.

Spokesperson for the Department of Design and Construction said the roadwork will be complete in mid-August with the fountain area being completed this fall.

The projects slow going had executives at Columbus Circle LLC worried, but now happy with the intended design, the development team awaits the project's completion.

"We were deeply concerned about the progress of the project and had a meeting with the city," said Warwick. "We are extremely pleased with the design and what the final product will look like."

The proposed design was conceived by Olin Partnership, Ltd to create a safe and attractive addition at one of the principal entries to Central Park and the intersection of three significant streets: Broadway, Eight Avenue and 59th Street.

The design will return the historic monument, built in the late 1800s, to public access and appreciation, fostering an environment not present for a generation.

"We had to rethink what the fountain was really about," said E. Allan Spulecki, RLA, ASLA, associate of Olin Partnership. The new fountain design will "allow the public to get close to the monument to see the original wording."

The existing fountain, built in 1960s, will be replaced with a classical fountain setback from the monument to allow once again the public to inspect the inscriptions on the pedestal.

The design features--paving, planting, fountains, seating and lighting--all reinforce the simple idea that Columbus Circle is unique in the City.

It is in fact where all measurements of distance in the city are taken from, said Spulecki.

"It's the center of the city," said Spulecki" "The bulls eye is where it all begins."

The island will consist of a series of concentric rings that buffer the traffic and will provides a pedestrian environment for the monument, consisting of a broad, gently raised area of planting, a series of fountains, paving, benches and lights.

On the outer perimeter, a ring of raised stone cobbles provides an emerging pedestrian refuge adjacent to the outer vehicular lane, which, in winter, can also accept piles of snow and salt without damage to planting.

The Fountain Design was created by Wet Design with the lighting by L'Observatoire International, irrigation by Lynch & Associates and engineers on the project are Vollmer Associates, LLP & Cosentini Associates.