Construction of two roundabouts along state Highway 14 — at 15th Street and 32nd Street — in Washougal is scheduled to begin in March of 2019 and be completed in September of 2019.
The $7.6 million project is currently in the design phase, according to Tamara Greenwell, with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).
She said it is too soon to tell what the posted speed limit will be. The current speed limit at both intersections is 55 mph.
Speeds in a roundabout are typically between 15 and 20 miles per hour, according to Greenwell.
She said roundabouts promote a continuous, circular flow of traffic.
“Because traffic is constantly flowing through the intersection, drivers don’t have the incentive to speed up to try and beat the light, like they might at a traditional intersection,” Greenwell said.
From 2011 to 2016, there was a fatal crash in the future roundabouts area, when someone ran a red light at 15th Street and t-boned another vehicle. Greenwell said a roundabout would help prevent those type of collisions.