Hot News

2.12.2008

By CAROL KINSLEY
AFP Correspondent

MIDDLETOWN, DEL. — While farmers typically drive their tractors and combines in straight rows, Delaware farmers were driving in circles in Middletown late last month to show state Department of Transportation officials the difficulties of navigating tight traffic “roundabouts” with their big equipment.
A roundabout is a one-way, circular intersection in which traffic flows around a center island. Roundabouts save lives, said DelDot Director of Public Relations Darrel Cole. Statistics show roundabouts provide up to a 90 percent reduction in fatalities.
“They reduce the seriousness of crashes,” Cole said. “Anyone who goes through one will testify that a roundabout does slow down traffic. If there’s a crash, it’s a minor fender bender.”
Cole continued, “Stop signs and traffic signals are not always the safest option. A roundabout, by design, is a way to force drivers to obey.”
The first of many roundabouts planned for the state was installed at Bunker Hill and Choptank roads in Middletown, near the site of the new Appoquinimink High School. The intersection is utilized by farmers hauling grain, hay or vegetables for processing or moving equipment from one field to another. Delaware Farm Bureau President Ed Jestice explained there are quite a few large farmers who farm in both Maryland and Delaware and go through that area frequently.
Jestice said it was important to work with DelDOT instead of being adversaries. Farmers met with project engineers in the design phase and provided measurements. Bill Powers, a New Castle County councilman and a farmer, said that during construction, farmers repeated concerns that their farm equipment and trailers could not make it through the roundabout.
DelDOT removed some signs that could be a hindrance and lowered some curbs, but it took a carefully choreographed “road test” by farmers driving an 18-wheel grain truck, combine and a tractor pulling a tiller to convince the engineers to go back to the drawing board.
Cole said DelDOT is working with the Delaware Farm Bureau to solve the problem. “At Middletown, we made an honest effort to reach out to farmers before construction. We thought our measurements and design would work. Obviously, we did not build it to fail.
“We organized the demonstration,” Cole added. “We took videotape and had engineers there. When we saw [the roundabout] was not working, the demonstration obviously accomplished what we wanted. We saw what needs to be fixed.”
There are a couple of issues, he noted. The center of the roundabout is a truck apron, meant for large vehicle tires to run up on at a little rise. What the engineers saw was tiller discs scraping the pavement and trailers tipped at an angle.
“At this roundabout, the apron is too high and too angled. We’ll fix that. Clearance is an issue at the roundabout and the curbs. We will raise the pavement to have more clearance,” Cole said.
Another issue is the radius, he said. “We will resolve that by installing mountable curbs throughout various areas. We will go back and fix it. It’s not ideal, but it will get us where we need to go.”
All the rest of the 40-some roundabouts planned for future construction “will be built to this design that is acceptable to the farming community and to DelDOT,” Cole said.
“We can’t make it too open, or people won’t use them; they’ll drive right through them.” As an example he cited a roundabout in Millington, Md., at which he said drivers don’t stay in the circular lane but drive right through. “We’re trying to avoid that,” he said. “We’re trying to find a balance that works here in Delaware.”
Cole said DelDOT officials will be meeting with farmers close to the situation, including Warren and Jestice, in a private meeting to finalize the design. “We need to come out of this all on the same page and be able to move forward,” he said.
“We found that farmers have the same goal. Safety is their No. 1 priority, not only in the jobs they do every day, which is one of the most dangerous occupations in the country, but also in the vehicles they drive. Our goal is to make them safe as well.
“At DelDOT we often reach out to stakeholders. It’s not always a pretty process. Sometimes it’s ugly. But the end result, what matters here, is that it work for everybody. We will accommodate the needs of the farmers while not compromising safety. We have no choice but to fix it. We can’t ignore the needs of a significant economic driver in this state.”
Gary C. Warren, president of New Castle County Farm Bureau, was pleased with the progress made and the cooperation evidenced. “The demonstration could not have occurred without the help and initiative of area farmers and other agriculture workers. It is comforting to be a part of a community of such support and camaraderie,” he said.
“I believe that those in attendance agree that traffic circles have their place in modern road design; however, the designs must be able to accommodate vehicles that intend to use those roads. Modification in width and turning radius of the Bunker Hill Road traffic circle will enhance our local road system while it supports remaining area agriculture.”
For more information about Delaware’s roundabouts, visit DelDOT’s Web site at www.deldot/gov/information/projects/choptank_road/roundabouts.shtml.