Camanche Roundabout

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In the City of Camanche, which sits along the Mississippi River on Iowa’s eastern border, a highway bypass around the city was experiencing safety concerns at an intersection with a residential neighborhood. Cars turning left onto fast-moving Highway 67 and turning left across thru-traffic into the neighborhood were involved in a series of crashes. The City investigated how to solve this safety issue through an Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) study, which recommended a roundabout be put in.

After securing a number of grants, the City began moving ahead with plans to install a roundabout, which would be the first in Clinton County. As such, it was important to educate the public about roundabouts and their benefits to help residents feel comfortable with the project, which was done through a series of public meetings. The roundabout was designed to fit within the right-of-way, so no land acquisition was necessary; however, meetings were held with some nearby homeowners worried about the additional lighting being put in at the intersection. Coordination was also necessary with the IDOT since Highway 67 was a DOT route. The intersection would be completely shut down during construction and traffic – including semis – detoured through Camanche, so it was vital to stay on schedule to minimize the inconvenience to drivers as much as possible.

The completed single-lane roundabout has a truck apron, which proved advantageous when a nearby power plant needed to transport a massive tower brought by barge from the river to the plant. The roundabout keeps traffic moving on the highway bypass while also improving safety for the neighborhood residents and drivers by slowing down traffic. Since this roundabout has been implemented, it has worked so well that the nearby town of Clinton plans to build multiple roundabouts on their main thoroughfares.