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The new Douglas Crossroads roundabout is open. The roundabout was built to improve safety and traffic flow at the U.S. 264 and N.C. 32 intersection. No stop signs anymore but you must yield to traffic which is already on the roundabout.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation Division of Highways is responsible for one of the nation’s largest highway systems — a network of modern interstates, U.S. and N.C. routes that make up nearly 80,000 miles of roadway and more than 13,500 bridges (Source – NCDOT). Sometimes, I forget how large North Carolina is.

That’s a lot of roads and Beaufort County has its first roundabout that I know about. It’s definitely a welcome addition to Beaufort County. 

I used to drive to Belhaven often but have not for several years. I always considered the intersection unsafe but didn’t expect anything to ever be done. NCDOT identified the intersection as being unsafe in 2018 after a fatal accident occurred in 2017. The Board of Commissioners endorsed the construction of the roundabout in 2018.

Being old, I have lots of experience with roundabouts or what was called circles when I was younger and lived in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Back then, some were quite large and moved a lot of traffic. I don’t think they were designed for safety but instead was a way to move lots of traffic quickly.

The worst one I remember was the two-lane airport circle outside the Philadelphia Airport. It was an absolute drag race with several four-lane roads coming together. People, including me, would switch lanes inside the circle to gain an advantage. Fairly frequently a vehicle would end up in the middle of the circle. I drove it frequently while I was stationed at Gibbsboro Air Force Station in New Jersey.

Two other bad ones were the circles located on U.S. 130 between Camden and Trenton. Back-ups on those circles could be five miles long when there was an accident.

Luckily, today’s roundabouts are not like the old circles and they work quite well.

The roundabout that connects Portertown, East Fire Tower and Robin Roads is particularly useful and safe. It moves a lot of traffic and does it well. Unfortunately, Fire Tower Road has become so crowded I won’t drive on it during the busy hours. 

The two-lane portion of Fire Tower Road will eventually be widened to four lanes to where the roundabout is. Portertown road will also be widened between Fire Tower Road and N.C. 33. I don’t believe this will be occur for a long time due to a $81.3 million cost and possible lawsuits.

Recently, I took a trip to see and try the new Douglas Crossroads roundabout. I like it. It’s a great addition to Beaufort County. I agree with others who have commented in the Daily News; it does need lighting.

Two other road projects which would be important to Beaufort County are a 264 Bypass around Washington and a four lane N.C. 33 between Greenville and Chocowinity. The bypass would remove U.S. 264, Fifth Street, traffic from inside Washington and a four lane N.C. 33 to Chocowinity would bring additional needed growth to Beaufort County.

Al Klemm is a Washington resident and a former Beaufort County Commissioner.