Busy Calhoun intersection redesign underway
A roundabout could replace the red light at the busy city crossing.
CALHOUN — An effort by the City of Calhoun to relieve traffic at a heavily used intersection is now in the early design stage.
The crossing of Curtis Parkway and Dews Pond Road connects two state highways with interstate exits (Highway 53 and Red Bud Road), funnels thousands of city and county residents into and out of downtown Calhoun, and handles hospital and school traffic from multiple directions each day — often resulting in several dozen vehicles backed up in all directions at certain times of the day.
City officials hope a roundabout could alleviate that backup.
“We are in the very early stages of design, but we would like to do a roundabout there,” City Administrator Paul Worley said.
On March 14, city council members unanimously approved the purchase of the property at 1130 Dews Pond Road, with possible intersection upgrades as the stated purpose of that decision.
“We bought the corner rental home already so we can demo that to make room,” Worley said.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, roundabouts are not only safer than red light intersections, but also improve traffic flow.
The IIHS also says traffic circles improve pedestrian safety and are better for the environment due to reduced idling.
At the state level, the Georgia Department of Transportation agrees that roundabouts offer many benefits such as safety, reduced congestion, long-term cost-effectiveness without signal maintenance, as well as aesthetic and environmental benefits. GDOT currently has charge of 84 traffic circles, with 50 under construction and 210 more in development.
As with any major road project, any relief won’t come without the inconvenience of road and utility work, not counting the design and planning stage ahead of the eventual construction.
“It will take many months just to do design engineering and utilities relocating,” Worley said. “Eventually we hope to have it built, and in addition add some width to Curtis Parkway to have a stacking lane for school traffic heading south.”
Current planning also may offer relief for pedestrian traffic, according to Worley, who said the city would like to connect the Dews Pond Road sidewalk all the way down to the one near Firehouse Gym.