NCDOT plans a roundabout at another rural crossroads in northern Wake County
Five years ago, the N.C. Department of Transportation built a roundabout at a rural crossroads in the northeast corner of Wake County.
Now it plans to put a second one at another intersection nearby.
NCDOT proposes to build a roundabout where N.C. 98 meets Moores Pond Road, about 5.5 miles east of downtown Wake Forest. The department will present its plans at a public meeting Monday, Jan. 23, from 5 to 7 p.m. at New Life Church at 6900 Zebulon Road.
NCDOT says replacing the current four-way stop with a roundabout will make the intersection safer. The department says there were 42 crashes there in the five-year period ending Oct. 31, 2018, injuring 77 people.
Engineers say roundabouts generally allow cars to keep moving better than traffic signals, even as they force drivers to slow to 15 or 20 mph, reducing the likelihood and severity of crashes.
NCDOT converted the nearby intersection of N.C. 98 and N.C. 96 to a roundabout in 2018. In the 4.5 years since then, the number of crashes at the intersection declined 31% compared to the same period before the roundabout was built, according to NCDOT. The number of crashes that resulted in injuries dropped nearly 80%, from 24 to 5.
The typical roundabout has 16-foot-wide lanes — four feet wider than most travel lanes — as well as a four-foot paved outside shoulder and raised space around the middle for trucks and other large vehicles that can’t make the tight turn.
The N.C. 98/Moores Pond Road roundabout will be a bit larger than the current intersection, and NCDOT expects to begin acquiring a small amount of right-of-way this spring. Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2024, requiring a detour that uses U.S. 401, N.C. 96 or Jack Jones Road.
NCDOT will accept public feedback on its plans Monday evening and through Feb. 8 by email to NC98-MooresPond-Roundabout@publicinput.com and by phone at 984-205-6615, code 4256.
This story was originally published January 21, 2023 at 7:30 AM.
