Hitt Road roundabout to open soon

IDAHO FALLS — Heavy machinery, roadwork signs, and traffic congestion have become the norm on Lincoln and Hitt roads since March.

So when will the intersection’s transformation from a single-lane to a two-lane roundabout be complete?

The short answer: the end of the month.

But some people who live close to the construction say they haven’t heard anything about the project lately.

“You hear about the project starting, you see the cones go up and then you don’t really know what’s going on unless the news says something. You don’t ever hear from the county really, or at least I don’t,” local Nathan Hawkes says.

And Jared Taylor agrees.

“I feel like at the initial point of the project there was a lot of proactive communication we kind of knew what to expect. As the time got closer to completion … roads weren’t open, and I tried to look for updates, and you couldn’t find them,” he says.

But Bonneville County Assistant Public Works Director Lance Bates says the county hasn’t been inconsistent in its communication, and it has conveyed the plan was to finish the roundabout in late fall.

“We’ve tried to tell them that it’s going to be late fall at earliest before it was going to be done. It was always going to be into November — we just didn’t know how far into November,” Bates says.

Bates says to check the county’s website for updates on road projects. A construction map is available on the right-hand side.

Bates says the county is doing its best to accommodate everyone.

“We’re hoping we’ll have the signing, the striping, all the concrete work, all the asphalt work done by the end of November,” he says.

He says people shouldn’t be concerned about the size of the roundabout and its accommodation of cars in both lanes.

“The vehicles will be able to fit. When the striping happens, it should be evident that two vehicles side by side can enter and go through the roundabout. It is important to stay in your lane and yield to the left,” Bates says.

Not everyone is ecstatic about roundabouts over a traffic signal but “a two-lane roundabout has been proven to flow more traffic consistently, and accidents are much reduced, or less severe if they do happen,” he says.

And at least some of the public agrees.

“I’m a big fan of the roundabouts,” Hawkes says. “I think that they are a good addition to Idaho Falls. When people learn how to use them the right way, I think they will be fantastic.”

Bates says the segment of East Lincoln Road between Hitt and Ammon has been expanded into five lanes. He says it narrows to three lanes to the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Annex then goes back down to two lanes like it was originally.

Other plans for the county include Phase 2 of the roundabout projects, which will include a one-lane roundabout at Lincoln Road and 45th East (Crowley Road) and a roundabout at 45th and First streets to accommodate Thunder Ridge High School traffic. Both projects may be done relatively close together, but the timeline is still flexible.

“We’ve entered negotiations with a design engineering firm. The exact timetable isn’t known, but we’re hoping it will be in the year 2020,” Bates says.