Traffic moves through the Averitt Road and Smith Valley Road intersection on Wednesday. The city of Greenwood is planning to build a roundabout at the intersection in 2024.
NOAH CRENSHAW | DAILY JOURNAL
Greenwood is moving forward with plans for a roundabout near Greenwood schools.
The city plans to build a $2.3 million roundabout at the intersection of Averitt and Smith Valley Road, just west of Greenwood Community High School and Southwest Elementary School, in 2024. The roundabout will have four lanes, two in each direction, and will alleviate daily traffic backups at the intersection, officials say.
“This intersection backs up every day and this will help us re-establish that free flow of traffic,” said Dale Davis, planning director.
Last week, the city received about $2 million in federal funds from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization to help pay for the project. The city was one of 15 communities in the Indianapolis region to receive federal funds, according to the organization.
The city will pay for the rest of the project, Mayor Mark Myers said.
The city continues to grow rapidly, and residents need to be able to get to where they need to go as quickly and smoothly as possible. Also, Smith Valley Road will soon have an Interstate 69 interchange, and when the time comes, it will be a connector road between Interstates 69 and 65 and U.S. 31, Myers said.
Smith Valley Road is considered one of the city’s primary arterial east/west roadways, which means it serves traffic within, through, into and out of the city. Averitt Road is considered a secondary arterial, meaning it is designed to serve trips within the community and link more local streets to a main road, according to the city’s comprehensive plan.
“Our goal is to get the flow of traffic through quicker and more safely,” Myers said.
Greenwood hired an engineering firm to look at the intersection because of its proximity to U.S. 31 and State Road 135. The firm found that a roundabout would be the best course of action to help alleviate the backlog and improve public safety, he said.
The roundabout is being designed to accommodate future needs on Smith Valley Road, including additional lanes, which would only be built if and when the city decides to expand the road, said Paul Peoni, senior technician for the city of Greenwood.
When construction begins in 2024, motorists and nearby residents should expect a brief, 60-day closure of the intersection. This could change as the roundabout will be bigger than other roundabouts in the city, and the closure could last longer than 60 days. It is still very early in the design process, Peoni said.
Whenever the city builds a new roundabout, officials try to plan construction around the schedules of nearby schools. This roundabout happens to be near two schools — Greenwood Community High School and Southwest Elementary School — so an impact is expected, Myers said.
The schools no longer take a full two months off during summer. The city plans to go in early and relocate utilities before starting on the roundabout so everything will be out of the way, he said.
“We’ve already been talking and coordinating with the schools and they are aware of the project, and they’re satisfied with (it) as well,” Myers said.
The city will also negotiate with homeowners for the right-of-way to build the roundabout, Peoni said.
