Buies Creek, N.C.—While students take the Christmas holidays off, workers and engineers from the North Carolina Department of Transportation will be on the job at the intersection of Main Street and Leslie Campbell Avenue building Campbell University’s latest construction project– a second traffic roundabout.
Jim Roberts, Vice President for Business and Treasurer, said roundabouts have many important advantages. They are safer for pedestrians, motorists and cyclists, more energy efficient and save motorists and pedestrians both time and money.
“The construction on this roundabout is not as complicated as the first because there are fewer main water lines at this second location,” said Roberts, referring to the roundabout that already exists at the Leslie Campbell/T.T. Lanier intersection at central campus. “We’re already installing the catch basins for water drainage, which will determine the width and height of the road.
The modern roundabout is a new type of intersection that can reduce the chances of a serious collision and reduce driver delays. It is a circular intersection where drivers travel counter-clockwise around the center island and yield to traffic already in the circle. The main feature of the roundabout is the raised central island designed to control traffic and reduce speed to 15-20 miles per hour. The island also reduces the likelihood of a T-bone or head-on collision by 40 percent, according to a study of 24 intersections conducted by the Insurance Institute on Highway Safety (IIHS). The study also found that the roundabouts reduced injuries from crashes by 70 percent.
Triangular islands called “splitter” islands at the intersection of each road flowing into the roundabout also increase safety by slowing and directing traffic and providing a refuge for pedestrians or cyclists. Crosswalks are set further back from traffic allowing drivers to react to pedestrians before merging into the roundabout.
The absence of a signal light decreases delays because there is no more waiting at a red light. In fact, the continuous flow of traffic produced by a roundabout was found to reduce delays by 50 percent and fuel consumption by 30 percent, according to the IIHS study.
The central island, landscaped with plant material, is also more energy efficient. It provides more surface area for water to filter into the ground. And the absence of signal lights means no electricity is required.
The Campbell roundabout is scheduled to be completed in May of 2011.
Photo Copy: Campbell University continues work on a second traffic roundabout at the intersection of Main Street and Leslie Campbell Avenue. (Photo by Shannon Ryals)