Circular
solution
Busy Wyoming intersection adds
roundabout, improves function and safety
By Tawny Quast
M
ost drivers have experienced this: You are
stopped at a red light and watch it turn green –
only to inch forward and have it turn red again
before you get through the intersection. Such was the frustration
motorists in Cheyenne, Wyoming, were experiencing daily at the
Pershing Boulevard/Converse Avenue/19th Street intersections
on one of the city’s main thoroughfares. Traffic was constantly
tied up, crashes were numerous, and the corridor was in need of
a face-lift, with crumbling curb and gutter and sidewalks.
“Every direction you came from you had to go through two
traffic signals. The intersections were so closely spaced that
you’d get trapped,” said Tom Mason, director of the Cheyenne
Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). “It was a traffic
operations nightmare.”
Beyond congestion, the corridor presented its fill of safety
issues. Crashes in the busy intersection could be severe, with
T-bone and rear-end collisions more likely than minor fender-
benders. In one section of the corridor, the steepness of a hill
dangerously limited visibility on either side. Also, sidewalks
throughout the corridor were either narrow or non-existent
where the pavement had given way to gravel, said Andy Dana,
a transportation engineer who managed the reconstruction
project for Ayres Associates.
The City and MPO knew the corridor needed fixing given its
condition and increasing traffic. The three closely spaced
intersections posted insurmountable problems, said Nathan
Beauheim, engineering services director for the City of
Cheyenne.
6│ TRENDS