Anderson council to consider roundabout for I-5, Deschutes

Design by Omni Means/Graphic by Anthony Higgins

ROUNDABOUT: Design can handle more traffic volume with greater efficiency, less wasted fuel and far less cost than a traditionally signaled intersection.

Members of the public were to have their first say on a pair of proposed roundabout interchanges at Deschutes Road and Factory Outlets Drive that would allow northbound freeway traffic a second chance to exit for what is rapidly becoming Anderson’s primary retailing center.

The combination of the Shasta Factory Outlets shopping center and the Anderson Market Place anchored by the Wal-Mart Supercenter naturally attracts thousands of vehicles each day to the busy interchanges which were designed and built long before the retail center grew up in that area, said Anderson Planning Director John Stokes.

As a result, drivers northbound on I-5 must now anticipate their exit onto Highway 273, which passes between both shopping centers, well before either shopping area is visible. The alternative is for motorists to exit the freeway after passing the shopping centers, then circling back through town, something that most motorists will not do on impulse.

To give motorists another chance at spending their money in Anderson, city planners have devised a second northbound exit that would join with the existing frontage access Locust Road.

To keep the increased traffic flow moving swiftly, and reduce the chances of side-impact accidents, Stokes and California Department of Transportation engineers are proposing a large roundabout that would create a five-way interchange with Locust and Deschutes roads as the legs, freeway exits and entrances as the arms and Factory Outlets Drive as the head.

Money to build the interchange has not yet been allocated or identified, so these plans may sit on the shelf for a year or two until Anderson officials can cobble together a funding mechanism, either with state transportation grants or federal stimulus money, Stokes said.“The important thing to remember is that this is the only way we are ever going to get a second northbound exit,” Stokes said prior to the meeting.