Construction is gearing up for the Ooltewah-Ringgold Road/Standifer Gap Road roundabout project starting on September 15, with completion scheduled for April of 2016.
Residents have requested the roundabout to help with safety at the busy intersection, which has seen an above-average number of crashes.
Evidence of the intersection's dangers can be found in the debris left behind. Chunks of car frames and broken glass litter the area.
Part of the issue is the way the roads are aligned. This doesn't look like a standard intersection. Motorists approaching from the west on Standifer Gap Road and crossing to the other side have to swerve right. The road is skewed. Trying to travel through the intersection in a straight line will put drivers on the grass when they reach the other side.
Also, this isn't a four-way stop. Stop signs stand at the edge of Standifer Gap Road, on both sides. But those driving down Ooltewah-Ringgold Road don't have to stop. This apparently has led some drivers to creep into oncoming traffic.
A roundabout will hopefully help with those issues, officials have said. But building a roundabout at a busy intersection takes time.
For the next few months, motorists should expect delays, reduced speed limits and detours.
Part of Standifer Gap Road will be closed within two to four weeks, and motorists will have to detour around the project. Ooltewah-Ringgold Road will remain open throughout the project, according to a news release.
Motorists should take alternate routes and allow extra travel time during construction. The project is 80 percent federally funded, with Hamilton County taxpayers footing the remaining 20 percent of the bill.
The contractor, Thomas Brothers, is based in Hamilton County.