Why not a roundabout?

The speed limit on Route 100 is 40 mph at that intersection — just recently notched down from 50 mph, at the urging of local residents. In early morning, a car turning left from Route 100 onto Moscow Road often has to wait for a break in traffic; it sits on the highway, left blinker flashing, with the driver hoping that a car coming up from behind doesn’t clip the rear bumper — or worse — as it zips past on the right.

A car trying to pull out of Moscow Road onto Route 100 also frequently must wait, and then the driver has to gun it to pull into the traffic flow.

Isn’t that asking for trouble?

A roundabout at that intersection would slow down traffic on Route 100, and provide a smooth, easy and safe way for cars get on and off the highway.

State officials said Monday a roundabout is out of the question because it would take more than five years to plan and build. However, the Route 100-Moscow Road intersection has been on the state’s to-do list since 1993; you’d think some thought would have gone into the situation.

Further, roundabouts are proving their worth at nearby busy intersections — Routes 2 and 100 in Waterbury, Routes 15 and 100 in Morrisville, Routes 15 and 100 in Hyde Park, and Routes 108 and 15 in Jeffersonville. They force drivers to slow down where traffic congestion can be an issue; they minimize the vehicle idling that occurs at traffic lights, a boon to both patience and the environment; and they improve safety by reducing traffic conflicts — for example, left turns in front of oncoming traffic.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, compared to conventional intersections, roundabouts have 90 percent fewer fatalities, 76 percent fewer injuries, and 35 percent fewer crashes.

Vermont’s prime exemplar is on Route 12 in Montpelier. It’s considered the first modern roundabout constructed on a state highway in the United States. Since it was built in 1995, the 13,000-vehicle-per-day intersection has had a 60 percent reduction in accidents involving injury. Some drivers think roundabouts are hard to figure out, but the Montpelier roundabout had only four accidents in its first four years of operation.

A roundabout would be a smart choice for the Moscow Road-Route 100 intersection.

Sidewalk superintendents

This is a great time for sidewalk superintendents, the onlookers fascinated by the way major construction projects take shape.

In Stowe, the big attraction is the new bridge near the entrance to Mountain Road. It offers prime spectator viewing. Since the old bridge is completely gone and the road is closed there aren’t any traffic snarls to watch out for.

There’s been quite a lot to see — yanking out sections of the old, decrepit bridge, retooling what was left, and watching truckers carefully deliver five 130-foot-long, 20-ton steel beams to the construction site, backing up from Main Street to the bridge location. Then, huge cranes danced the big beams into place.

Now, crews are turning that mighty support structure into a real bridge, aiming to finish up before the end of May. They’re certainly well on their way.

The main event, though, is in Waterbury, where contractors are doing major repairs on both northbound and southbound bridges on Interstate 89, and will replace the Exit 10 off-ramp bridge for northbound traffic. Viewing’s not so good for the bridge job, but on Stowe Street, which runs below all three bridges that are getting facelifts, spectators get a good look at parts of the project.

Sidewalk superintending is worth time and attention. It offers a real-life look at how things are made, and allows us to marvel at the machines and technology that make the world convenient for us — that is, once all the roads are reopened.