Submitted photo
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If everything goes as planned, Winona County will build the area’s first roundabout in the city of Winona at the intersection of Homer Road and County Road 17.
With $1.4 million in federal funding on the line, that project will likely come in 2011. County Highway Engineer Dave Kramer said that the $1.4 million in federal funds require that the project be constructed in 2011, and would cover about 80 percent of the cost.
Plans were presented to curious residents last week during a public informational meeting, when maps outlined two options that would negate the need for traffic signals there while keeping traffic moving more safely, said Kramer.
Kramer said that roundabouts are traditionally safer than other traffic measures like signaled intersections, resulting in fewer serious and fatal accidents. Traffic collisions that are associated with roundabouts, he said, are more often sideswipe style, less serious collisions.
Kramer, along with consultants from Bonestroo, Inc., said that several different traffic control solutions were looked at to help address traffic projections that show the increasing traffic levels at 1.7 percent per year. Plans would also include right turn lanes for Treetops and Wildlife Lane.
Two options for roundabouts were shown last week during the meeting. The first would include bypass lanes to the roundabout on Homer Road, the second would include only one bypass headed southeast on Homer Road.
During the meeting, several concerned landowners wondered whether there would be room for the proposal on the existing right of way along Homer Road, especially since plans include adding a fifth lane of traffic. Kramer said that while plans are still very preliminary, he’s hoping that the county wouldn’t have to purchase any more right of way for the project.
And some wondered whether the nearby Saint Mary’s Cemetery would possibly be in jeopardy, as well, with the cemetery running close to the current road and existing right of way. Others worried that large semi trucks could have difficulty navigating the turn.
Kramer said that it seemed as though there would not be an impact on the cemetery, and that the roundabout would be wide enough for large trucks to drive through. He said that there may be some tight spots at the turn lane to McNally Road and to Southeastern Technical College where additional rights of way could be needed, but that the fifth lane and roundabout looked as though they would fit along the existing roadway.
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