Elgin plans to construct new roundabout on west side of the city

Elgin officials have rolled out plans for a new roundabout on the city’s west side.

The project at the intersection of Highland and North Lyle avenues will replace an existing four-way stop with a single-lane roundabout designed to improve traffic flow and safety through the intersection.

The intersection is located about halfway between Randall Road to the west and McLean Boulevard to the east.

Public Services Director Mike Pubentz told council members on Wednesday that the purpose of the roundabout is to “improve safety and reduce frequency and intensity of crashes.”

The intersection saw 26 crashes from 2019 to 2023, with roughly 75% being angle crashes — when one driver either doesn’t stop or leaves too soon and enters the intersection when they don’t have the right of way.

Pubentz said one of the main draws of roundabouts is that they eliminate “conflict points” where vehicles cross the same path. A four-way intersection has 32 conflict points for vehicles, plus 24 more where pedestrians and vehicles can have conflicts.

The roundabout design reduces both of those to eight possible conflict points.

“Using this design doesn't guarantee there will be no accidents here; drivers are imperfect,” Pubentz said. “But I'm confident it will greatly reduce the incidence of accidents.”

A portion of Highland Avenue will be closed for about three months during construction, Pubentz said. He said the city hoped to award a bid and start construction in May.

Pubentz said city officials are aware that residents have had some bad experiences with traffic circles in Elgin. Traffic circles on Gifford Street and College Green Drive were removed in the past couple of years.

“We knew from the get-go we couldn’t have a failure on this one if we hope to continue to promote the use of roundabouts,” he said.

While calling those previous traffic circles “well-intended,” Pubentz said they weren’t built to current design standards and were likely placed for the wrong reasons in the first place.

“They were put in to stop cut-through traffic, that's not what roundabouts are designed to do,” he said. “They're designed to calm traffic. They're designed to eliminate conflict points and increase safety overall.”

The city secured about $1.1 million in federal funding for the project and will pay the balance of the cost, expected to be about $280,000.