Road Closure Scheduled To Complete Second Roundabout

Posted on: Aug 27th, 2014 | Press Releases

Beginning Tuesday, September 2, 2014, the intersection of Three Notch Road at Dawes Lane and Dawes Lane Extension will be closed for approximately two months. The purpose of the closure is to complete the remaining construction of Mobile County?s second roundabout. Detour signs will be posted. Motorists are asked to be cautious, take alternate routes and to allow for extra travel time. Depending on origination and destination, motorists can expect to add 1.5 or more miles to travel. For example, from Dawes Road to the intersection of Three Notch Road and McDonald Road normally is 2 miles, but with the detour is 3.6 miles; and from Ben Hamilton Road to the intersection of Three Notch Road and McDonald is normally 1 mile but with the detour is 3.4 miles. Mobile County was the first county in the State of Alabama to receive federal dollars for construction of a roundabout under the High Risk Rural Road Program. It led to the construction of the roundabout at Grelot and Cody roads. The county had sought funding for the Three Notch and Dawes intersection to reduce the numbers of right angle crashes that occurred there and will receive federal assistance through the Federal Highway Safety Administration. The cost of the project is $536,000. The roundabout can eliminate right-angle and head-on crashes because traffic flows in one direction. At the same time, the configuration forces a reduction in speed and eliminates the delays associated with stop-and-start traffic that occurs at a signalized intersection. According to the Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation, roundabouts have delivered a 67 to 80 percent reduction in fatalities or incapacitating injuries and a 35 percent reduction in all crashes.