Two more roundabouts coming to Rhinelander

Three miles of roadway on U.S. Highway 8 are set to be improved and two intersections  — State Highway 17 South/Boyce Drive and County Highway G — are to be converted into single-lane roundabouts in 2026, the Department of Transportation has announced.

Transportation engineer/project manager Andy Dana of Ayres Associates outlined the scope of the future road projects during a public involvement meeting last week at Rhinelander City Hall.

“The current pavement has deteriorated in the form of visible cracking that is susceptible to tenting during the winter,” the DOT explained in a handout. “The pavement also has alligator cracking and rutting.”

In addition, “there have been multiple crash safety issues at the WIS 17 South intersection with a higher number of crashes than what would be expected for a similar intersection.”

The planned improvements also include mill and overlay of the WIS 17 North intersection, replacement of the guardrail on the east side of the Wisconsin River and replacement of the culvert just east of WIS 17 South.

The DOT is soliciting public input on the project in advance of the production of final plans in the spring, Dana noted.

According to the handout, US 8 traffic from WIS 47 to WIS 17 would be detoured and staged to minimize impacts to traffic and businesses. 

“Traffic would be detoured along West Kemp Street, Arbutus Street, South Pelham Street, Courtney Street, Lincoln Street and WIS 17 North. WIS 17 South traffic would be maintained by use of a temporary bypass of the WIS17South/Boyce Drive intersection to connect west to WIS 47. County G traffic would be maintained north-south using one-lane/two-way traffic signals through the work zone.”

In his presentation, Dana noted that single lane is the safest and simplest roundabout.

“Roundabouts reduce the number of conflict points,” he explained. “What I mean by that is the points where you’re crossing the path of another vehicle. Roundabouts tend to have around 8 or so versus the 32 or so of a traditional intersection. (This configuration) also reduces the crash severity because now you’re going through and you’re dealing with side swipes, not T-bone crashes.”

When an attendees asked if the DOT is planning to construct more roundabouts across the state, Dana explained that the configuration is a good option in certain cases.

“It’s one of the tools in our toolbox,” he said. “It’s not the only type of intersection that’s going in. We put them in when they’re the right fit, the best fit. And in this case, they work out quite well. I mean, the reason why we like them is that they do tend to reduce maintenance. They end up reducing crash severity. But not all intersections are suited for roundabouts. We actually do many different types...there’s signalized intersections, and there’s times where a roundabout and any signal isn’t needed, and it’s just a regular two-way stop. But we do other ones that are called R-cuts, where you go through and you have an intersection on either side, and you’re sending people down and back around. It all depends upon the situation and the location that you’re doing it.”

Rhinelander’s first roundabout — at the intersection of U.S. Highway 8 and State Highway 47 — was constructed in 2019, replacing a signalized intersection. For more information or to comment, contact WisDOT Project Manager Stacy Hagenbucher at 715-365-5770 or [email protected].

Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].