ROUND TRIP

MAT-SU — The Valley’s first roundabout is set to open today and, at least for the truck drivers, firefighters and medics who tried it out Monday, so far so good.

“I think as long as folks just take their time, this’ll be just fine,” said Central Mat-Su Fire Chief James Steele.

The roundabout sits where Trunk Road meets Georgeson Drive to the east and East Blue Lupine Drive to the west. Essentially, motorists will need to use it to get to Mat-Su Regional Hospital or to the Park and Ride lot, which has reopened.

Joe Hartley with the state’s Department of Transportation said that the state has been building roundabouts for nine years and has installed at least nine in that time. The one on Trunk came in Phase I of a two-phase project to build a new road from the Parks Highway to Palmer-Fishhook Road.

“On Phase II we’re going to have another roundabout at the Bogard-Trunk Road intersection. So this is the future. We have to embrace it,” Hartley said.

Part of that is education, hence the invitation the department extended to emergency responders, trucking companies and the media.

The day started with a quick safety briefing — once you’re in the roundabout you own it, don’t change lanes in the roundabout, stay alert, the red pavement made to look like bricks in the center is there for trucks to drive on if they have to.

Hartley said that, essentially, drivers should view a roundabout like they would a right turn with a yield sign; keep your eyes open, watch for other people in the intersection, and make your move when you can.

Steele said that his drivers had no problems navigating it. And he didn’t make it easy for them; he showed up for the test run with the biggest truck he’s got — the department’s aerial platform fire engine. It had no trouble, though it has a good turning radius, Steele said. Some of his new engines might be a tighter fit but that red center lane will be helpful.

At least for ambulance crews, driving through the roundabout will be a daily occurrence, since they’ll need to use it to reach the hospital. Speaking of which, what about emergency calls? How does an ambulance running lights and sirens clear a roundabout?

“It’s going to be interesting to see what happens when we come up here with lights and sirens,” Steele said.

But, he said, that can get dicey anywhere. People don’t seem to fully understand state law, which says motorists have to pull to the right and stop when emergency vehicles show up with their lights on. Some drivers will pull left. Some will just stop in the road. Some will pull right but keep moving — and then have a near-miss with a bank of mailboxes and swerve back into the road. Really, the best advice he can give his drivers is the same thing he says about any intersection.

“What we will tell our drivers is it’s up to our drivers to get through this safely,” he said.

If that means taking their time or doing some fancy maneuvering, then that’s what it takes.

Amid all the talk of roundabouts, Hartley said he actually thought it was bigger news that the Park and Ride lot had reopened. It’s more than doubled in size and has lighting.

“Yeah, the roundabout is big but, for most people, this is bigger,” he said, pointing to the new parking lot.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.