Roundabout Construction Prep Begins

By Cynthia Drummond for BRVCA

April 28th 2023

RICHMOND – After nearly a decade of planning, construction of the roundabout at the intersection of Routes 138 (Kingstown Road) and 112 (Richmond Townhouse Road) is underway.

Financed, designed and built by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, the roundabout will slow traffic on Route 138 and reconfigure the section of Richmond Townhouse Road behind the own Hall from a two-way road to a single, eastbound direction. The roundabout will be pedestrian-friendly, with sidewalks and crosswalks at each corner.

Roundabout vs rotary: What’s the difference?

The purpose of a roundabout is to slow traffic. Motorists entering a roundabout travel around a central island and traffic separator islands. Rotaries are larger, circular intersections, where traffic moves at greater speed.

Roundabouts are considered to be more efficient than traffic lights and stop signs at keeping traffic moving.

More information on roundabouts and rotaries is available on the RIDOT website.

The addition of the roundabout has been the cause of considerable angst among some residents, who have described it on the town’s community Facebook page as “a fine example of stupidity” and “so horrible and poorly planned.”

But the existing intersection, with several intersecting lanes of traffic and Richmond Elementary School close by, has been the site of more than 100 automobile accidents over the past decade, and Police Chief Elwood Johnson said he had no doubt that the project would improve safety.

“That particular area in town is our most dangerous stretch of roadway with so many intersecting roadways and driveways and directions of travel, all converging on the same stretch,” he said.

“The roundabout slows people down to 25 miles per hour or lower, and softens angles of impact, period.”

Johnson said he had driven through many roundabouts without experiencing delays of difficulties.

“If you look at areas with similar volumes or even higher volumes of traffic – Warwick is probably not the best example, because there’s so many roundabouts - but I’ve travelled through there at peak volume times and have had no problem navigating traffic,” he said. “And, the wait times are so much less, sometimes none at all. You’ve just got to slow your vehicle. Remember that the Richmond Elementary School is adjacent to this roundabout location, and we’ve had complaints and problems with speeding, particularly with vehicles travelling West, where the road is wider and smooth and improved and not so many houses situated along the roadway, so people tend to drive a lot faster as they approach the crest of that hill, and people travelling through the area don’t care to slow or stop.”

The Timeline

DOT spokesman Charles St. Martin III said construction is expected to be completed by April 2025.

“The project just started construction,” he said. “The total cost of the project, design and construction, is $6.5 million. One of the first things they’re doing is clearing some of the land. They’re also doing the water line.”

(The new water line, a town project, is funded by an American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA grant of $292,660.)

St. Martin said there would be no road closures during construction, but there might be some delays.

“There will be occasional lane closures during working hours during the week,” he said. “There may be some traffic impacts, but we’re not totally closing 138.”

There will be no construction during the Washington County Fair, from Aug. 16 to Aug. 20.

Johnson said he expected that motorists would adapt quickly to the new traffic pattern.

“It’s going to allow people travelling South on Carolina Nooseneck and North on 112 to enter that intersection safely, rather than waiting for an opportunity to take a chance to lurch out, either turning left or right or travelling straight across,” he said. “I know it’s different. I get that it’s easy to assume the worst, but the fact is, these are working very successfully in other communities. Their rates of accidents are down. Their rates of serious injuries are also down.”

A long time coming

Town Administrator Karen Pinch said she remembered the roundabout proposal being presented to the town as far back as 2015.

“DOT presented their proposal to the town several times, to multiple Town Councils and each time the Council expressed their approval of the plan,” she wrote in an email. “Some people are concerned that the roundabout will be a hindrance, while others believe it will slow traffic in an area where traffic regularly exceeds the speed limit.  Having it by the school and at the intersection with Rt. 112 isn’t necessarily a bad thing considering the number of accidents that have happened at that intersection.”