Traffic meets at the current U.S. 50/U.S. 281 intersection, which is being converted to a roundabout. |
By Tim Potter
South Central Kansas Public Affairs Manager
On a summer day, the intersection of U.S. 50 and U.S. 281
looks and sounds like a busy place for a remote spot.
Just beyond the intersection, in Stafford County, it’s
wide-open country – 3 miles south of St. John, 48 miles west of Hutchinson, 28
miles south of Great Bend. It’s a quilt of tree lines and crops, cattle and
cattails. For stretches, the only movement on the hot pavement is tiny toads trying
to hop from one side to another.
At the intersection of the two highways, traffic across a
wide expanse of south-central Kansas converges, engines whirring, gears
shifting. Big rigs rumble straight through without having to stop, blowing east
and west on U.S. 50, while north and south traffic on U.S. 281 is signaled to
stop before rolling on. At times, several vehicles line up before east-west
traffic clears.
But everything about that key intersection is about to
change in a big way: Around four weeks from now, the first key temporary change
will be that traffic in all directions will have to stop before proceeding.
That’s so construction can continue on a roundabout interchange.
The Kansas Department of Transportation is overseeing the
project. Venture Corp., of Great Bend, is the primary contractor for the $5.2
million project.
The roundabout is designed to improve safety – with less
chance of a high-speed, T-bone collision – and to ease the way for oversized
trailers carrying, for example, huge wind-farm parts. Now, big loads have a
hard time maneuvering through the square interchange.
Construction Engineer James Middleton, left, and Engineering Technician Specialist Doug Coates check roundabout plans. |
Roundabouts help improve safety because they cause traffic to slow down, said James Middleton, a South Central Kansas Construction Engineer based in Pratt. The 15-year KDOT veteran is overseeing inspection of the interchange project. The project coordinator is Doug Coates, Engineering Technician Specialist has more than 30 years of field experience.
The roundabout will be composed of two spheres: a
diamond-shaped outer road for the largest loads and a separate circular road
inside the diamond for regular vehicles. Vehicles enter the circle by yielding
to the left.
Crews are building legs of the diamond now. For a while, drivers
will be using temporary roadway at the intersection. Traffic will be shifted
around as the roundabout gets constructed in phases.
For visibility, the completed roundabout will be
illuminated with 16 street lights – four at each approach.
The contractor’s schedule has a completion date of Dec. 13.
Check out our drone video of the project here:
Check out our drone video of the project here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyxTNpMuN9c
You can learn more about roundabouts and why KDOT uses them here:
https://www.ksdot.org/burtrafficeng/Roundabouts/Roundabout_Guide/RoundaboutGuide.asp
You can learn more about roundabouts and why KDOT uses them here:
https://www.ksdot.org/burtrafficeng/Roundabouts/Roundabout_Guide/RoundaboutGuide.asp
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