The Aberdeen City Council approved funding for a proposed roundabout intersection on east Market Street during its meeting Wednesday night.
In total, the project will cost $1,916,250, with $1,657,556 currently being awarded through federal grants for transportation construction projects. That leaves $258,694 that the city is still responsible for paying, but Public Works Director Rick Sangder said he is confident his department can find other agencies willing to award grants to cover that.
“We’ve talked to a number of grant agencies with money to give, and they all like the roundabout project and the safety aspects of it,” said Sangder.
The roundabout would be a single lane, with five exits in place of the current intersection where Fuller Way branches off Wishkah Street and meets Market and F streets. The location has been targeted for several years as being a prime location for a roundabout due to the large number of accidents that occur along it.
City Councilmember Peter Schave was initially skeptical, but now supports the roundabout for safety reasons.
“I’ve been a trucker all my life, which made me not fond of roundabouts,” said Schave. “But if you read the data on them, especially one-lane roundabouts like this would be, they’re a lot safer. This intersection is a bad one because of Fuller Way, the extra street coming into it. We’ve had numerous accidents there, including some fairly serious T-bone accidents. That’s one of the specifics they mention about roundabouts that’s pretty much eliminated.”
Construction on the roundabout isn’t set to begin until February of 2021. Schave said having a roundabout would also make traffic safer and more accessible for bicycle riders and walkers, along with improving the aesthetic appeal in combination with the eventual Aberdeen Gateway Project for downtown.
“It’s really proven technology,” said Sangder. “It eliminates head-ons and those turning-motion crashes where you’re bumper to bumper. Those become glancing collisions. So there’s still accidents, but they won’t kill people.”
