Second roundabout approved for Cobb

Safety and road improvements approved for Lower Roswell Road will include Cobb County’s second roundabout intersection.

The roundabout is part of a number of improvements planned for nearly three miles of Lower Roswell Road, from Davidson Road to Timber Ridge Road. Work is expected to begin in late spring or early summer 2010.

Sidewalks will be built on both sides of Lower Roswell Road. The sidewalk on the south side of the road replaces a planned multiuse trail. Residents at last month’s County Commission meeting were divided about the proposed trail, with some calling it necessary for the safety of bikers and walkers and others calling it intrusive on their property. The compromise plan satisfied both groups.

The replacement of the multiuse trail and other cost reductions to the $7.3 million project should make funding available for a roundabout at the intersection of Lower Roswell, Timber Trail and Willeo roads, said John Morey of the Cobb Department of Transportation.

The roundabout would channel the flow of traffic approaching from the roads around a center island.

Most common in Europe, a roundabout is a road around a circle. Approaching drivers yield to those already in the roundabout. Drivers continue around the island without stopping until reaching the exiting street.

About 14,300 cars daily use Lower Roswell Road, according to county DOT figures.

At about $400,000, the roundabout’s estimated cost is about half the cost of a roundabout at the intersection of Villa Rica and West Sandtown roads in west Cobb. County officials say the roundabout there has improved traffic flow at the once chronically congested intersection.

Willow Point subdivision resident Herb Wollner said a roundabout will make for a smoother and safer traffic flow on Lower Roswell Road. “Most of the homeowners are in favor of it,” he said.