More roundabouts in the works across McHenry County

Residents of Johnsburg were leery about the impact of a new roundabout, McHenry County engineers said, but when McHenry County’s first roundabout was completed eight years ago, it became a source of pride for the city.

“Everybody in town seems very happy with it at this point,” Johnsburg Village President Ed Hettermann said. “The people who had concerns about it are now satisfied.”

More roundabouts have since replaced problematic intersections, and this year, nearly half a dozen roundabouts either in planning stages or under construction around McHenry County.

The recent popularization of roundabouts is partly due to a growing body of both traffic and crash data showing their benefits, as well as grants or other funding sources to pay for them, said Scott Hennings, the Assistant Director for Transportation for the McHenry County Division of Transportation.

Roundabouts work by slowing traffic, thus leading to fewer crashes and when they do have, less severe ones, while allowing traffic to continue flowing at intersections, Hennings said. That second piece also means less wasted gas and exhaust pollution.

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, switching from a regular intersection to a roundabout can decrease fatal crashes by 90%.

“There are still accidents, but this is the difference between someone coming home to family or not,” Hennings said.

Currently, a roundabout is under construction in downtown Woodstock. One at Main Street and Cary-Algonquin Road in Algonquin was roughly 75% completed, village engineers said in an update on Sept. 10 to the Around and About Main Street project website.

In Crystal Lake, two roundabouts are in the engineering phase – both along Congress Parkway, one at Federal Drive and and the other at Exchange Drive, near the Pingree Road Metra station.

Roundabouts are a great solution for managing speeds along the busy Congress Parkway corridor, a stretch has drawn numerous complaints for traffic issues, Crystal Lake Public Works Director Michael Magnuson said.

“I think when you look at what types of improvements you can make to an intersection, 20 years ago people didn’t think about roundabouts,” Magnuson said. “Now that is one of the options you look at, along with an all-way stop or traffic signal. But sometimes a roundabout is a better solution.”

Originally, those roundabouts were planned for construction this spring, Magnuson said, but the timeline was pushed back because of state road construction along Route 14 and the city did not want to create a “traffic nightmare” this summer.

Hennings, who is also overseeing the development of the county’s next long-range transportation plan, said roundabouts were a “tool in our tool box, not a panacea” for solving local traffic issues.

“We get a lot of nervous calls about roundabouts,” Hennings said. “Your feelings about them probably depend on where you grew up and how often you drive.”

Also, while isolated intersections in towns like Johnsburg or Marengo are identified by the county or the Illinois Department of Transportation for roundabout construction, Algonquin Public Works Director Bob Mitchard said building a roundabout can often be difficult to work into an environment that’s already developed.

However, the roundabout in Algonquin being constructed at North Main Street and Cary-Algonquin road is a welcome development, as the intersection comes along a hill and the roads intersect at an awkward angle, Mitchard said.

“The intersection is a little bit dangerous,” Mitchard said. “Traffic is coming up the hills; cars coming from the south are on you quicker than you anticipate. For years, there were accidents there.”

Also, while larger cars or trucks might have trouble stopping completely on a hill, the roundabout allows them to traverse such an intersection with less complication, Mitchard said.

The roundabout could be completed this fall, though at the moment, the greatest difficulty lies in moving utilities around necessary infrastructure, Mitchard said.

One of the Woodstock roundabouts under construction will replace the five-way intersection at Madison Street, Lake Avenue and South Street. A five-legged roundabout at that intersection has been discussed since 2007, Woodstock city engineer Chris Tiedt said.

“There’s a lot of confusion there right now at five stops,” Tiedt said. “It’s always a question of who will go at intersections. Throw in a fifth leg and you get a high number of crashes. Once done, a roundabout will decrease that dramatically.”

The roundabout will allow for a more aesthetic gateway to the historic Woodstock Square downtown, Tiedt said.

The Environmental Defenders of McHenry County are also interested in the potential for roundabouts to incorporate native plantings and other landscape features either in the center island or along the outer circle.

Roundabouts can also “complement community values” with quieter traffic, Hennings said.

Other roundabouts built within the past five years include the intersection of Charles Road and Raffel Road in Woodstock, Route 23 and Harmony Road near Marengo, and River Road and Dowell Road in Island Lake.

Right now, all roundabouts being constructed in the county are single-lane roundabouts, but in the future, Hennings said, the county could look to add multi-lane roundabouts.

At least three more opportunities remain for roundabouts along Route 47, Tiedt said. Funding has already been approved by IDOT for roundabouts at the intersections with Lake Avenue, McConnell Road and Judd Street/Irving Avenue.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story included the incorrect location of roundabouts planned along Route 47. The Illinois Department of Transportation has appropriated funding for roundabouts at Lake Avenue, McConnell Road and Judd Street/Irving Avenue.