As soon as late spring, a second roundabout intersection will be operating in Fayette County.
This one will be at a new intersection: where Veterans Parkway (also known as the West Fayetteville Bypass) will meet Lees Mill Road.
When construction begins, the intersection will remain open to traffic because half of the roundabout will be built at a time, according to Fayette County Transportation Engineer Carlos Christian.
The roundabout is expected to be of similar size to the roundabout in downtown Fayetteville at the intersection of Beauregard Boulevard (Redwine Road) and Grady Avenue.
The roundabout on Lees Mill Road will force traffic to slow down, which addresses concerns of residents who had worried of speeds getting too high on the bypass, Christian said. While the bypass speed limit in the area is 45 mph, it will slow to 15 mph at the roundabout, Christian said.
The roundabout will have a mountable curb for vehicles that might have trouble navigating it; and it will be plenty big to handle school buses, Christian said.
As vehicles approach the roundabout, a curved curb will guide them into the intersection to keep vehicles from going the wrong way, Christian said.
The principle of navigating the roundabout will be the same as the one in Fayetteville: all vehicles in the circle have right of way, and all vehicles approaching the circle must yield for traffic in the circle until there is safe space for them to enter.
When the roundabout is close to opening, the county will undertake a public education campaign to inform motorists of how to safely travel in the roundabout, said County Public Works Director Phil Mallon.
There are plans to landscape the area to buffer the intersection from nearby homes, but there also is hope the roundabout itself will have architectural features to make it aesthetically pleasing, Mallon said.
Fayetteville’s roundabout has solved what was a significant traffic backup in the late afternoon and early evening commute times, as cars would back up at the former four-way stop with 30 or more vehicles queuing for their turn to clear the intersection.
Curb and gutter work is already underway and mass grading is expected to begin soon, though paving will not occur until temperatures are warmer in the spring, officials said.
The intersection is part of the second phase of the bypass which stretches from its current terminus at Sandy Creek Road and will ultimately connect with Ga. Highway 92 at Westbridge Road.
