June 2024

ROUNDABOUT ROUND UP

Traffic circle, rotary, turnabout…you might call it something different, but a roundabout is a useful traffic tool to keep cars moving efficiently and safely. In fact, roundabouts have some impressive safety stats. In communities where roundabouts have replaced traditional intersections, there have been:

• 90% reduction in fatal crashes
• 75% reduction in injury crashes
• 37% reduction in total crashes

What is a roundabout?

A roundabout is a one-way circular intersection where vehicles move counterclockwise around a center island before turning off/exiting in their desired direction. Roundabouts don’t have traffic signals or stop signs, which allows vehicles to move through the intersection more smoothly and generally without stopping.

Benefits of Roundabouts

• Saves time since traffic is continuous and drivers experience fewer stops and less congestion
• Improves safety by slowing travel speeds through the intersection
• Improve access to buildings on the opposite side of the road by eliminating left turns across incoming traffic
• Reduces fuel costs because drivers don’t need to make as many stops followed by hard accelerations
• Saves taxpayer dollars since there isn’t a traffic signal to install, power and maintain.

How do you safely use a roundabout?

1. Slow down as you approach the roundabout.
2. Watch for and be ready to yield to vehicles approaching from the left and to pedestrians or bicyclists in the crosswalk.
3. Enter and stay in the correct lane, as shown on signs in advance of the roundabout.
4. Do not stop within the roundabout, even if you miss your exit. Simply continue driving around the circle until you reach your exit again.

Mostly, remember that the vehicles in the roundabout have the right-of-way, so be alert depending on where you are.

Roundabout Fun Facts



• Modern roundabouts were first built in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and the first one built in the United States was in Nevada in 1990.
• Carmel, Indiana, has more than 100 roundabouts and is known as the roundabout capital of the United States.
• France contains half of the world’s roundabouts, but the United States is catching up fast.
• There are about 13,000 roundabouts in the United States overall.

Roundabouts in Northern Kentucky

There are quite a few roundabouts in Northern Kentucky, including those at:

• KY 237 (North Bend Rd.) Graves Rd. in Boone County
• KY 338 (Richwood Road) and Triple Crown Blvd.
• KY 237 (Pleasant Valley Rd.) and Camp Ernst Rd.
• KY 536 (Mt. Zion Rd.) and Old Union Rd.
• KY 536 (Mt. Zion Rd.) and Harmony Rd.

If you haven’t used one yet, you likely will by the time the KY 536 improvements are done. That corridor will have six total roundabouts to keep traffic flowing and improve travel safety in the area. For more information about all of the projects happening in that corridor, please visit bit.ly/KY536Improvements

Project Updates

There are a few projects currently underway in Northern Kentucky. There’s widening work happening on KY 536 from KY 1303 to Williamswoods Dr., as well as a widening project on Mineola Pike between Olympic Blvd. and Donaldson Hwy. and a widening project on Donaldson Hwy. between Houston Rd. and Mineola Pike.

And, good news! There are also a few projects nearing completion. The widening project on KY 536 from US 25 to KY 1303 and the two pavement improvement projects currently in progress on I-275: from the Campbell/Kenton County line to US 25 and from Hebron to Mineola Pike are all reaching the end of their construction work. We’ll keep you updated on when these projects are finished, but always be mindful that crews could be completing small finishing tasks, even when the large work is complete.

Please drive carefully through construction zones, and keep an eye on the Travel Advisories pages of the Driving NKY Progress site as well as the KYTC District 6 Roadshow for up-to-date traffic impacts.