Collegiate Times

Construction of the new roundabout has closed the connection of Prices Fork to Main Street.

Construction on a new roundabout at the intersection of Main Street and Prices Fork Road began on May 16 affecting travel in the downtown and Prices Fork Road area of Blacksburg.

The roundabout construction is the fourth phase of the Blacksburg Main Street Improvement Project, a project that commenced in June of 2010 to renovate a half-mile segment of Main Street from the College Avenue-Main Street intersection to the Main Street-Prices Fork Road intersection.

When completed, the renovations will reduce the number of road lanes from two in each direction to one in each direction with a new turning lane. It will also include wider sidewalks, new pedestrian signals, streetlights, benches, trees and landscaping, and 130 feet of seating wall.

The $11.5 million project is part of an effort to vitalize downtown commerce, embellish the downtown streetscape, and eliminate traffic congestion on Main Street.

The project is mainly being funded by federal and state money, costing the town of Blacksburg a total of only $224,000.

The roundabout, introduced as a part of the Main Street Improvement Project in the Downtown Master Plan conceived in 2001, is an effort to help alleviate the traffic on Main Street and Prices Fork and to improve safety, as well as bolster business in the downtown area.

“It will be a more pedestrian friendly area,” Brandon Steel, urban transportation manager and the leader of the roundabout project said.

The roundabout was incorporated into the Main Street Improvement Project due to the discovery that car crashes could be reduced, traffic flow could be improved, and new, safer sidewalk systems could be installed to ensure the safety of pedestrians.

Since construction began, a segment of Prices Fork Road has been closed, and detours have been implemented to prevent heavy traffic for people traveling on Main Street and Prices Fork Road near the construction. New traffic signals have also been installed to assist consistent traffic flow on the detoured routes. Kabrich and Webb Street have become the designated detours for those traveling south onto Prices Fork Road from North Main, and Turner Street for those traveling north onto Prices Fork Road from Main Street and the downtown area.

The Main Street, Toms Creek, and University City Boulevard routes of the Blacksburg Transit system have also been impacted. Some bus stops are temporarily closed, and routes have been altered to accommodate the new traffic pattern near the Main Street-Prices Fork intersection.Local residents have felt effects from the recent construction. Residents have experienced traffic issues, some parking lots have been closed, and the detours and road closings are forcing residents to discover alternate routes to get around Blacksburg.

Wes Hill, a recent Virginia Tech graduate and Blacksburg resident said, “The ease of traffic flow has been inhibited. It’s kind of a hassle to find your way around.” Local businesses have also been affected by the construction. Parking has become more limited in downtown Blacksburg, and consumers have to find alternate lots to park in. The detours have also diverted some traffic away from some local businesses. Although the roundabout construction has created some temporary frustration for local residents, many believe that the construction will result in a positive outcome.

“I think the roundabout will be a good thing for Blacksburg once the construction is all done,” Hill said. “I’ve done some research on roundabouts in some of my classes, and they actually allow for easier traffic flow when they’re constructed and put into use, so I feel like once the roundabout is done and all of the construction is done, then traffic flow along Main Street and Prices Fork will be a lot easier.” According to the Town of Blacksburg’s website, pavement demolition has begun at the construction site, and new traffic signals have been installed.

A Blacksburg official stated that the two-lane roundabout is projected to be complete by this September, and the Main Street Improvement Project is slated to be finished by the spring of next year.

A version of this article appeared in the May 26 issue of the Collegiate Times.