Roundabout planned for busy crossing

Omni-Means Engineering

BIRD'S EYE: A satellite image with engineer's overlay shows how the roundabout will work with existing roadways.

Following several postponements to give city planners another chance to chat with store owners and managers at the Shasta Outlets shopping center, the City of Anderson finally held a public hearing Tuesday on a proposed $10 million traffic roundabout that could replace a traditional four-way intersection where Deschutes Road meets Factory Outlets Drive and Interstate 5.

Not one public comment was received on the matter, however, prompting newly-elected Mayor Norma Comnick to close the public hearing almost as soon as it had begun.

Planning Director John Stokes said he was not surprised that the planned intersection upgrade drew few comments.

"We had only two comments submitted during the comment period that closed on Sept. 19, 2008 and the Public Utilities Commission received two more comments after the city's comment period closed," noted Stokes, who added that all of the concerns raised were thoroughly addressed in the project's mitigation plans.

"The city considered all of the comments, including the late comments," he said.

In order to add another, more visible, exit from northbound Interstate 5 to the city's southern retail center, Stokes said the city is proposing a traffic roundabout to replace an existing five-way intersection since the roundabout can handle more traffic more efficiently than a light-controlled intersection.

The roundabout will require slight realignment of the freeway's northbound on- and off-ramps at Deschutes Road/Factory Outlets Drive for smoother merging with traffic circling within the roundabout.

Since the city has not yet identified any source of funding for the project, estimated at $10 million, the project's plans will sit on a shelf at city hall as "shovel ready" - a project that has all the necessary approvals, engineering studies and plans done - in hopes that Anderson might qualify for some federal or state economic stimulus funding, City Manager Dana Shigley said.

So far, California officials have not released any federal stimulus money to counties or cities as the state continues to fight its own budget demons, Shigley noted.