NICE — The junction of Highway 20 and the Nice-Lucerne Cut-off is about to become safer ? and rounder, according to Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie. He announced Thursday that Caltrans plans to install a roundabout at the intersection.
The intersection has a collision rate five times higher than the state average for similar intersections, according to Frisbie. He said there were 31 collisions between Jan. 1, 2001 and Dec. 31, 2005. Of those, 17 were broadside accidents and 15 resulted in injuries. The majority of area residents surveyed at the open-house Caltrans held in May 2007 preferred a roundabout to the alternative of installing a four-way stoplight.
“We looked at all aspects of each project and compared the benefits of each. We chose a roundabout for three main reasons, including safety over a signal, lower operational costs and reduced delay to traffic,” Frisbie said.
The approximately $4.8 million project is slated to go out to bid in March 2010, and construction is expected to start in the summer of that year, according to Frisbie. He said the project will take two summer construction seasons to complete.
Frisbie said the roundabout is expected to cost approximately $1 million more than a traffic signal, because of the cost involved with building a temporary road around the intersection during construction, and then removing the road when construction is done. Caltrans will fund the project because it is designed to improve safety at the intersection.
“Our traffic safety department is constantly looking at traffic statistics throughout our district, and they are always looking for areas that need improvement,” Frisbie said.
People who responded to Caltrans” request for public input last year frequently referred to the roundabout in Lakeport at the junction of Lakeport Boulevard and Parallel Drive. Frisbie said Caltrans finished a roundabout in Hopland at the junction of Highway 175 and Old River Road in the fall of 2007.
According to information found at www.dot.ca.gov, motorists should slow down when approaching a roundabout and yield to vehicles already in the roundabout. Drivers should signal when leaving the roundabout.
The Web site says roundabouts reduce greenhouse gas emissions by cutting vehicle idling time. Median islands allow pedestrians more safety in crossing the road and provide opportunities for landscaping.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636 ext. 37.
