London Road is rounding out

The infamous London Road is facing some changes. The development of three new roundabouts on 26^th, 40^th and 60^th avenues east, was the talk of the town tonight at MnDot’s virtual meeting with the public.

“We took a deeper dive into the road and roundabout alternatives to review the various locations for the roundabout to best mitigate or balance impacts. The goal was to provide the best intersection type again that meets the user needs. And overall the recommendation was to or is to construct a single lane roundabout that could be expanded to a multi-lane,” says Matthew Settergren, Senior Project Manager at LHB.

Now what can roundabouts do, you ask? Well here’s some things:

• Roundabouts can mend travel times for emergency vehicles by eliminating unnecessary stops and delays.
• Slower vehicles speeds give other drivers more time to react to emergency vehicles.
• The roundabout island and traffic medians force drivers to slow down between 20 and 30 MPH.
• Slower vehicle speeds reduce the stopping distance needed which helps drivers avoid crashes.
• Slower vehicle speeds help drivers recognize people trying to cross the road.

For those wondering, MnDot hopes to finish taking public opinion and comments until the end of the year, and plans to finalize the scope of the project by January 2023.

To learn more, click here: London Road/Hwy 61 – MnDOT (state.mn.us)