New roundabouts to be built on Route 266 next summer

The Missouri Department of Transportation recently announced plans to build two new roundabouts on Missouri Route 266 a few miles west of Springfield. One will be located where the roadway intersects with Highway B, and the other will be built where it intersects with Highway AB and North Farm Road 99, just south of Elwood. Construction on the roundabouts is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2024, at a cost of almost $4.2 million. Roadway lighting will also be installed at the roundabouts.
MoDOT described a roundabout as a “a one-way circular intersection that channels traffic around a central island without traffic signals” in an information webpage about roundabouts. They also said that roundabouts allow for a better flow of traffic than intersections with traffic signals.
“Roundabouts are a great alternative to a signalized intersection when a high volume of traffic needs to get through with the least amount of inconvenience,” MoDOT stated on their information page.
Additionally, MoDOT said that roundabouts have only eight points of contact where a collision can occur, whereas a signaled intersection has 20 to 30. As a result, according to information from MoDOT, roundabouts reduce injury crashes by 76-percent, fatal and incapacitating crashes by 89-percent, pedestrian crashes by 50-percent and overall traffic accidents by
39-percent.
During construction, Route 266 will remain open, though there will be single-lane closures, MoDOT said. However, North Farm Road 99 will be closed for up to 30 days during construction. Drivers are encouraged to find alternate routes to work during the construction phase.
For more information, go online to www.modot.org/missouri-route-266-intersection-improvements-route-b-and-r....