The rotary in Port Hastings is getting a makeover designed to improve functionality.
The changes, which were initially announced in January, are intended to help slow traffic approaching the circle.
Dwayne Cross, the access management engineer with traffic engineering and road safety for the province, tells The Hawk upgrades will also make the area easier to navigate, especially for those who aren’t from the area.
“For drivers that are not familiar with Port Hastings and with the rotary, it can be confusing,” he says. “If a driver is faced with a confusing situation when they’re moving, unfortunately that’s when mistakes can happen and collisions can occur.”
Cross says the current layout makes it easy to come into the rotary too fast, which increases the risk of crashes; the roundabout will keep drivers from having to make quick directional decisions.
He says it will also feature pedestrian and bike infrastructure, which it currently lacks.
Cross says traffic backups from the Canso Causeway’s swing bridge are one issue that can’t be fixed, at least not completely.
He says the exact design hasn’t been finalized, but one option is to add a second lane between the causeway and the future roundabout to accommodate overflow traffic during longer waits.
Work is expected to get underway in the fall.
