DUVALL — It seemed as if a solution to the traffic congestion

near State Route 203 and Northeast 124th Street was just around the bend, but

a lack of funding halted all hopes of relief.

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has

kept that busy intersection south of Duvall first on their “priority for

signalization” list for the past four years,

but after further study, officials decided to create a roundabout instead.

“Our purpose is to reduce collisions and accidents,” said

WSDOT engineer David Edwards. “If there was a signal, the delay and

congestion would still be there and accidents would remain high.”

With a European-inspired roundabout, however, serious

accidents would decrease and the follow-the-leader style of merging would keep

the 13,000 cars that use the road daily flowing smoothly.

According to WSDOT projections, the amount of accidents would be

dramatically reduced if a roundabout were constructed on the

intersection. Currently there are about 92

accidents per 100 million vehicles which use the roadway. The expected number

would drop to only 19 accidents with the new system.

“It’s lower because if an accident occurs, it’s at a lower speed,”

Edwards said. “Roundabouts have fender benders, but not the high severity

accidents like at a signal where people run the red.”

Another advantage to the roundabout is that traffic is constantly

moving. With a signal system, there are always two lanes that will be

stopped at a red light.

There are several roundabouts already in action in nearby areas,

including Westlake, Sammamish Parkway, University Place and in

Tacoma. Edwards said generally about 60 to 70 percent of people are against the

installation of roundabouts. After construction, however, public

opinion swings up and about 80 to 90 percent support the new right-turn only

style of driving.

The proposed roundabout would be about 75 feet in diameter and

could accommodate the larger commercial trucks that frequent Valley roads.

“Some of the larger trucks might need to cheat on the [other] lanes,

but that’s expected,” said Matt Rilling, a design engineer for WSDOT.

“You scoot out of the way and let them go.”

The $1.5 million project will have to remain on the design boards for

now because the state doesn’t have enough funding to construct the

roundabout. Once money is allocated for the road, Edwards said it would take

another year to complete the project.

After that, officials will concentrate on educating the residents on

how to drive in the new system.