By Ossie Bladine • Editor • 

Roundabout planned for OR-18, Lafayette Hwy. intersection

Rachel Thompson/The News-Register
Rachel Thompson/The News-Register##A large truck turns south off Highway 18 while several vehicles on Lafayette Highway wait until it is clear to proceed. Traffic volume at the intersection increased nearly 10% from 2021 to 2023.
Rachel Thompson/The News-Register Rachel Thompson/The News-Register##A large truck turns south off Highway 18 while several vehicles on Lafayette Highway wait until it is clear to proceed. Traffic volume at the intersection increased nearly 10% from 2021 to 2023.

An increase in motor vehicle accidents at the intersection of Highway 18 and Lafayette Highway (OR-233) is on the radar of the Oregon Department of Transportation, which has launched plans to construct a roundabout there.

Preliminary data for 2023 reports 26 total crashes at the intersection; 20 are reported to have occurred in 2022, and 14 in 2021.

“The data we have does show a trend and this intersection has our attention,” said David House, public information officer for ODOT.

Reports show an increase in traffic volume coinciding with more crashes. The annual daily traffic at the intersection ranged from 15,500 to 15,900 from 2018 to 2021 (not counting 2020, where traffic was reduced due to the pandemic). In 2022, the average daily traffic volume jumped to 17,291, and increased again last year to 17,758.

“That intersection was totally adequate when it was, and probably fine 10 years ago,” House said. But the agency anticipates the traffic volume to continue rising.

Initial plans of the project call for a multi-lane roundabout at the intersection, closure of Ash Road north of Highway 18, and to widen Lafayette Avenue near the intersection.

Pre-construction costs are estimated at just under $2 million dollars. For construction, however, the project must “get in line” for funding.

“We have this huge needs’ list, and we have to take each new project and put it in line,” House said.

House estimated construction could begin between 2027 and 2030.

He also provided an update on safety improvements at McDougall Corner at the intersection of Highways 18 and 99W.

House said ODOT is nearing completion of a proposed design for the area, which may also call for installing a roundabout, and expect to have it read in the coming weeks.

“The first thing we’ll do is hold an open house and get public input on the design,” House said.

Members of the county Parkway Committee met with ODOT officials in March and urged them to be more aggressive in its timeline for design and securing funding for that project.

Comments

Local Yokel

Since we are building so many roundabouts, please add these skills to the driver's education and testing. It should be required that the learners pass through a minimum number of roundabouts and get a feel for how they are supposed to flow and work.

Robin

I have known for a while that A roundabout is the safest and most efficient answer to this intersection. The present control has failed. Might not be so bad if the intersection were aquare but it does have an angle that inhibits the view. A light would bog things down and possibly lead othe accidents. Having visited a country that uses roundabouts like this exclusively on their highways I agree whole heartedly.

Robin

Local Yokel: I agree, better training and testing is a must.

CubFan

Robin:
In the other country you visited, I presume they posted reduced traffic speeds substantially before approaching the roundabout? (I'm not a fan of roundabouts, but have read a lot about them, and it seems to be a good solution.)

BC

And please - learn how to use a blinker when you exit any round-about so the guy trying to enter knows it's safe to do so. The round-about at Hill and Baker Creek is a hazard because very (and I do mean very) few people signal, including the cops!

No rocket science needed, just a flick of the wrist to keep traffic moving smoothly.

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