Roundabout Driving 101

The pavement has only been down since Friday, but the new roundabout - the unfinished roundabout - at the Five Corners is already close to legendary status.

The reports, rumors, tales - call them what you'd like - are already circulating around the area:

• People going the wrong way.

• People unable to get up the nerve to enter the circle.

• Panicking drivers stopping in the middle of the circle.

So how does one navigate it? Explaining it is the job of Scott Bushee, the project manager at Five Corners, an engineer for the state Department of Transportation and the DOT's roundabout guru.

Bushee said it will get easier once the signage is in place. The weekend was a free-for-all (with stop songs, however) and temporary directional arrows were in place on Monday.

"We will have signs and permanent markings painted right on the roundabout,'' he said.

Bushee said the first things drivers will see on their approach is a yield sign and a stop line in case the approaching vehicle does not have the right of way.

Vehicles already in the roundabout have the right of way.

The configuration slows drivers down and allows them to ease their way into the circle. Directional arrows will keep traffic headed in a counter-clockwise pattern, he said.

Entries and exits will consist of easy right-hand merges at slow speeds, he said.

"Legally, only one car is allowed to enter the intersection at a time at a five-way stop,'' Bushee said. "And we all know that did not happen. Rather than having a buildup at a five-way stop, the roundabout will allow for multiple entries at the same time and it will allow everyone to keep moving.''

The $1.2 million, federally funded project will include new sidewalks, crosswalks and a storm water drainage system for the area. A truck apron will be built around the center island of the roundabout and the mountable splitter islands will be constructed of a stamped colored concrete.

The goal of the DOT is to have the project nearly done, with the exception of some minor finishing touches, by November. The entire project should be finished by June 2012, the DOT has said.

Colossale Concrete, Inc. of Berlin is the general contractor.

Editor's Note: The DOT has supplied handouts to go with this story. Click on the attached PDF files to access them.