Residents no longer have to deal with delays on a well-traveled thoroughfare as road construction is now finished on a roundabout project.
“The roundabout is definitely a situation that helps move traffic through faster,” said Chris Osterhus of the Anoka County Transportation Department.
Construction on the new roundabout was completed in late August. The feds doled out most of the money on this project that cost just north of $2 million. They deemed it a priority for safety reasons.
“This intersection has had a crash history so we applied for federal funds to help with the roundabout in order to have better access for people going north-south and east-west and for a safety improvement at the intersection,” Osterhus said… “To get federal money it’s obviously a necessity. Anoka County taxpayers payed a percentage of the project but normally on a federal project it’s about an 80/20 split. When you get federal money there’s obviously a need for this.”
Anoka County believes the roundabout is a good addition because of the population growth in Blaine and Lino Lakes.
Said Osterhus: “You can’t put a cost on an accident.”
Roundabouts are a trendy fix
Approximately 10,000 cars and trucks a day use Main ( County Road 14) – which is a major east-west thoroughfare. Sunset (County Road 53) is a north-south route that is used by some 5,000 vehicles daily.
“Blaine and Lino Lakes, the border we are on here definitely is booming when it comes to housing developments,” Osterhus said. “You can see behind us there’s a sod field. Right next to it is a development. For this to go in now, pre-developments, is a good thing because people are used to it when they come to their new place of living.”
Roundabouts have popped up in Minnesota and around the US in the past couple of decades. These circular roads have become a staple in the transportation industry.
“They’re the present fix for t intersections and four-legged intersections,” Osterhus said. “They score very well with the federal funding, that’s why they’re so pronounced because when the federal government has x amount of money to provide to local governments to help with safety improvements it lessens the tax burden on Anoka County residents.”
The first roundabout is believed to have been built in New York City in 1877. Florida had the most roundabouts in the US with a total of 1470.
