51st Street/Drexel Avenue Roundabout

Franklin, WI

Project Overview

The existing four-way stop at the intersection of S. 51st Street and Drexel Avenue in the City of Franklin was reconstructed as a single-lane roundabout. The City of Franklin approached raSmith to study the intersection to compare stop, signal and roundabout intersection improvement options. A roundabout was selected as the preferred alternative, and raSmith completed the preliminary and final roundabout design.

Extensive public outreach was used to ensure the needs of the project stakeholders were met, as this was the first roundabout in this area of the City. A sensitivity analysis was performed to ease any concerns that the roundabout could handle the heavy peak traffic flows observed at school start and end times. Because fire station #3 is located just east of the intersection, raSmith engineers met with the Franklin Fire Department to discuss necessary accommodations for their fire trucks during and after the roundabout construction.

In order to give the public and surrounding property owners an understanding of how the roundabout would blend into its surroundings, raSmith created a 3D rendering of the roundabout based on the proposed design surfaces. Multi-use paths and sidewalks were constructed adjacent to the roundabout to accommodate bicycles and pedestrians traveling to Franklin High School and within the adjacent residential neighborhoods.

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