Work that began July 8 at the intersection of Harville Road and Langston Chapel Road for the construction of a traffic roundabout is on schedule and will open, as planned, on Oct. 6.
Jill Nagel, communications officer for Georgia DOT District 5, which includes Bulloch County, said contractor J.A. Long Paving was building the truck apron Tuesday.
“Even with the amount of rain we had from Tropical Storm Debby that stopped work, the contractor did a tremendous job catching up and staying on task,” Nagel said. “There was some erosion from all the rain, but the contractor got right back in there and did the earth work that needed to be done to keep the project on course.”
The Georgia Department of Transportation announced in June that the intersection would be closed to through traffic for up to 90 days – through Oct. 6 – to complete the roundabout.
The truck apron that the contractors were pouring Tuesday is a raised concrete area around the central island of the roundabout that provides extra space for large vehicles to navigate. Nagel said truck aprons are designed to allow large vehicles, such as buses, trucks and recreational vehicles, to turn and navigate roundabouts without hitting other vehicles or fixed objects.
After the apron is finished, Nagel said “the last layer of asphalt will be next and then they will do the signage and markings. So, everything is on schedule to open the road to traffic Oct. 6.”
The state funded and directed project is estimated to cost $3.75 million, including $2.46 million for construction, $390,000 for acquiring right of way, $180,000 for utilities and the previously authorized $720,000 for preliminary engineering. Paving contractor J.A. Long is based in Fortson, Ga., which is near Columbus.
Reducing crashes
Planning for the Langston/Harville roundabout “originated from the need to address a total of 25 crashes that were reported between 2012 and 2016,” the Georgia DOT stated in a 2021 report. Seven of those crashes resulted in at least one person being injured, but no deaths were reported from crashes at the intersection during the four-year period analyzed.
A traffic engineering study looked at traffic volumes at peak periods, the crash history and road geometry. The study compared the effects a traffic signal and a “roundabout alternative” would have.
The roundabout will consist of a 20-foot-wide circulatory roadway, with an elliptical island in the middle surrounded by a truck apron. Curb-and-gutter would be installed around the outside of the oval and inside the truck apron.
As at other roundabouts, there would be no signal lights, only signs. These would include yield signs and roundabout signs, with three arrows in a circle and an indication of 25 mph as the safe speed inside the roundabout, dropping from posted speeds of 45 and 35 on the various approaches.