West side roundabout opened quietly Monday

With little fanfare or even a public announcement, the new traffic roundabout at Canoa Road and the west frontage road south of Green Valley opened Monday.

It’s designed to make the interchange safer than one with just stop or yield signs.

And work is already under way on a roundabout at Canoa and the east frontage road.

Canoa Road will link the two roundabouts under the interstate. It t, is closed now, but will reopen shortly.

Borderland Construction was in charge of the $4.2 million west side project. Pinnacle One was the contract manager on the Pima County-funded project.

Taos artists Patti and Juan Navarette are designing the art work to grace the roundabout’s central plaza. They’re applicants to do the work on the east side roundabout also.

Traffic is expected to grow on the west side frontage road, from Continental Road in Green Valley to Amado, as more housing is built.

Traffic on the east side frontage road runs from Continental south for about five miles before ending near the entrance to Santa Rita Springs.

After the east side roundabout, highway extensions and improvements are finished, drivers will also be able travel the east side frontage road from Continental Road to Amado.

Pima County has estimated that work will cost about $16.4 million. Part of that will pay to bridge the Esperanza Wash.

Roundabouts have been around a long time. One reference said the first one was built in the early 1800’s at Paris’s Arc de Triomphe. Modern maps show there are at least five major roads converging on the roundabout there.

A roundabout is a circle where all turns are made to the right. If the driver misses the road he wants he can continue driving on the roundabout until his street comes up again.

jlamb@gvnews.com | 547-9749