Burlington County is moving forward with plans to add a roundabout to the intersection of Crosswicks-Chesterfield Road and Old York and Margerum roads.
The Burlington County Commissioners voted last week to award a professional services contract with Mount Holly-based Alaimo Group for planning and engineering for the road project. The change is expected to reduce congestion and improve traffic safety.
“Public safety is our No. 1 responsibility and roundabouts are proven to be an effective safety measure to slow traffic and reduce accidents at certain intersections,” said Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Tom Pullion. “Our engineers believe a new configuration will make driving on these roads significantly safer and more convenient.”
The four-way intersection is within a residential area of Chesterfield near Charlotte Rodgers municipal park. Traffic through the intersection is currently controlled by stop signs on Old York Road (County Route 660) and Margerum Road. There are no controls for vehicles traveling on Crosswicks-Chesterfield Road (County Route 677).
Since 2008, Burlington County has completed five intersection improvements with roundabouts. Several others are now in various stages of design and planning.
Among the previously completed roundabouts, two are located in Chesterfield at the intersections of Bordentown-Chesterfield Road (CR 528) and Old York Road and at the intersection of Bordentown-Georgetown Road and Old York Road.
The County’s other completed roundabouts are located at Cinnaminson Avenue (CR 607) and Calhoun Street in Cinnaminson, Riverton Road (CR 603) and Branch Pike (CR 606) in Cinnaminson and at Cedar Lane (CR 659) and Railroad Avenue in Florence.
All five intersections with completed roundabouts have had a significant reduction in the number of crashes.
“We’ve had a lot of success with roundabouts because they force drivers to slow down and pay closer attention at intersections,” said Pullion, who is the liaison to the Department of Public Works and Engineering. “Our goal is to make County roads safer by preventing accidents and lessening traffic congestion and our County Engineering Office continues to look for ways to improve our infrastructure and make changes where appropriate. This is another great example of our commitment to do that.”