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The Village of Mahomet is ready to put the finishing touches on Champaign County’s first roundabout located on Churchill Road.
The roundabout was bid with the stretch of Churchill Road, which runs along the east side of Middletown Prairie Elementary.
“Roundabouts have been shown to reduce the amount of serious accidents in an intersection,” Public Works Director Gary LaForge said. “Most of the impacts are side-to-side, in other words, sideswipes, instead of rear-end or head-on collisions.”
The single-lane roundabout will force drivers to stay under 20 mph through their turn. LaForge said this is safer than a four-way stop or an intersection with a traffic light because traffic must abide by the posted speed limit, which is generally about 30 mph.
Each leg on the roundabout will include “Roundabout Ahead,” “Pedestrian Crossing” and “Yield” signs. LaForge added the island in the middle of the intersection also gives pedestrians a safe stopping point while crossing the street.
“The biggest improvement is if you’re crossing one of those streets, you only have to look one direction,” he said. “There’s no left turn movements in the intersection. So everyone will come around the roundabout in a counterclockwise manner.”
With the help of consultants, the Churchill roundabout is designed to 25,000 vehicles per leg per day. LaForge said the projected numbers suggest only one-tenth of vehicles will cross the intersection per day.
Even if traffic volume increases with the addition of schools or when Churchill Road is extended farther south, potentially reaching IL-47 south, traffic models still suggest the roundabout will be able to handle the increased number of vehicles.
Concrete and islands on the roundabout are completed. As Middletown Prairie reaches completion this spring, the Village will add signage and clean up around the construction site.
The Village plans to host a grand-opening celebration in mid-June to show residents how the roundabout model works.
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