MUNCIE — Indiana has become known for building roundabouts to solve safety issues at dangerous intersections. INDOT believes they could also be the answer in the middle of Muncie.
INDOT is planning to build roundabouts where Main and Madison Streets, also known as State Road 32, cross Jackson Street and Hackley Street. The agency estimates it could cost between $4 and $7 million.
"We're analyzing the urban roundabout design, which is designed to accommodate large vehicles such as semi-trailers, school buses, and fire trucks," said Blake Dollier of INDOT.
INDOT does not expect to build the roundabouts until 2027.
Muncie Fire Station Number 1 is on one of the corners targeted for a roundabout. Guardian Brewing Company is located diagonally across from the fire station.
"Every year, there's at least two or three wrecks at this intersection, and they're bad wrecks," said Guardian Brewing Company owner Bill Kerr. "They've ran into the sign out front, there's cars that are upside down, all kinds of stuff."
INDOT counted more than 150 crashes at the four targeted intersections between 2018 and 2020 when they were studying the traffic patterns of the area.
Kerr said one minor change has already helped his side of Muncie feel safer.
"This used to be a two-lane street and people seemed like they were racing down," Kerr said. "Since they made that one lane, traffic has slowed down quite a bit."
INDOT organized a meeting Wednesday night to tell the community about the project The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at Ivy Tech's downtown Muncie campus.
-
IMPD urges parents to know kids’ whereabouts after 17-year-old fatally shot
From deadly shootings to a string of overnight crimes, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department reports both cases raise the same question: Do parents know where their kids are?
IMS Museum staff puts on finishing touches for historic car lap
Eleven cars will take part in the historic car lap ahead of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday morning. Nine of them are race-winning cars.
Indiana AG investigates fuel retailers accused of price gouging
More than 170 consumer complaints for gas price gouging, along with the state’s own monitoring, have led to more than 30 formal investigations and 100 additional inquiries into Indiana retailers.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway honors Kyle Busch
Indianapolis Motor Speedway honored NASCAR icon Kyle Busch, who died at 41-years-old on Thursday. Busch won the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2015 and 2016.
