City of Belleville optimistic it will finally get roundabout at busy intersection
The city of Belleville and state of Illinois are moving forward on a $5 million project to convert a busy intersection into a roundabout after 14 years of financial and political hurdles.
The City Council voted Monday night to provide construction and electrical easements at Freeburg Avenue and South Best West, near Walnut Hill Cemetery and Belle-Clair Fairgrounds.
“We’re planning for it to go out for bids in September,” said City Engineer Scott Saeger.
The intersection now is a four-way stop. Three of four legs are under Illinois Department of Transportation oversight because Freeburg Avenue is part of Illinois 13 and South Belt East is part of Illinois 158.
Saeger said he’s optimistic that the roundabout will be completed by the end of next year.
“My personal opinion is that it’s needed,” he said. “If you go there in the morning or afternoon starting about 2 o’clock, there’s vehicles backed up. There’s a lot of school buses that go through there because (the school district) has its yard out on Mascoutah Avenue.”
The project originated with a nearly $800,000 federal grant that the city of Belleville was awarded through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.
Kaskaskia Engineering Group designed the roundabout in 2011 and redesigned it in 2015 based on new IDOT requirements and changes requested by adjacent property owners.
Funding shortages and other city priorities delayed the project, according to officials. Then the administration of former Mayor Patty Gregory got into a contract dispute with Kaskaskia.
The roundabout seemed to be back on track in August 2023, when officials were planning to request bids that fall and start construction the following spring. But that never materialized.
Saeger said rising construction costs had increased the city’s responsibility from about $1.8 to $3.7 million, out of a total $5.5 million estimated at the time, so officials needed more time to consider design changes and look for alternative funding sources.
“There’s some extra funding that is working out,” Saeger said this week, speaking of state and federal grants.
More and more cities, including some in the metro-east, are replacing traditional four-way stops with roundabouts.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety considers them a safer alternative because tight circles force drivers to slow down, and they lessen the number of right-angle, left-turn and head-on collisions.
Efficiency and the environmental also are factors.
“Research shows that traffic flow improves after traditional intersections are converted to roundabouts,” the institute’s website states. “Less idling reduces vehicle emissions and fuel consumption.”
