Staff Photo by Adam Crisp/Chattanooga Times Free Press
Dalton, Ga., residents had the chance Thursday to view plans for a large roundabout at the intersection of state Route 52, College Drive and Interstate 75 off-ramp. County engineer Kent Benson, left, American Consulting environmental specialist Anna Peterfreund and county and city planning director Kevin Herrit discuss the plans.DALTON, Ga. — The public got an up-close view on Thursday of state plans to reshape a busy — and confusing — Dalton intersection.
DOT has contracted with a local engineering firm to figure out a way to make the intersection of state Route 52, College Drive and the southbound off-ramp of Interstate 75 less confusing to motorists.
“I think it will be positive … as long as they put signs up properly,” said Jim Dempsey, of Dalton. “It’s awful right now. All those people coming off the interstate are new, and they have no idea what to do there.”
Traffic in a roundabout is not regulated by a signal. Instead motorists yield on entry, then exit the circle, a process intended to keep traffic flowing smoothly.
VIEW THE PLANSThe plans are still on display at the following locations:* City of Dalton Public Works535 Elm St.Dalton, Ga.* Whitfield County Administration Building No. 1301 W. Crawford St.Dalton, Ga.For more information on how to comment, contact Dewayne Comer, Georgia DOT, at 770-387-3617.
College Drive is too close to the existing traffic signal to have a second light installed, so the state is proposing a 230-foot-wide, two-lane roundabout instead.
“The task here was to eliminate some of the conflicts and confusion that [were] taking place as traffic [was] increasing,” said Brian Mirson, an engineering partner with American Consulting, the Dalton-based engineering firm designing the roundabout. “There was no specific configuration in mind. Our job was to provide them with plans of what might work and what might not.”
About 22,000 vehicles travel through the intersection each day. Traffic planners say the roundabout will be safer than a red light because motorists are forced to slow down.
“People don’t die in roundabouts; people die at intersections,” Mirson said. “There is a false sense of security at traffic lights.”
Comments on the plan are still welcome, said Mohamed Arafa, DOT region spokesman. Once this public comment phase is complete, the state will move forward to build the roundabout.
Construction won’t start until April 2012 and it will take at least a year to construct, Arafa said.