By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
The Five Points intersection in Decatur once had a traffic light in its midst. The traffic light is, of course, long gone.
And, soon, so too will be the configuration which has been there since probably not long after the invention of the motor vehicle, bringing together five separate streets.
(The photo looks south from Second St., and is believed to have been taken in the 1920s, according to local historian Max Miller, who has the photo in a collection.)
City Operations Manager Jeremy Gilbert says it is now looking like the work to install a roundabout at Five Points will begin on Monday, June 2.
The effort is expected to continue for 90 to 120 days, through the summer months.
Sewer work will be done at the start, then after 2-3 weeks, the project will turn to concrete work.
The Indiana Department Transportation (INDOT) is in charge of the project. The contract was awarded by INDOT to E&B Paving, a Muncie firm which had the low bid of $2,493,109.
Decatur’s match is 20% of the final cost.
While Carmel in Indiana has 157 roundabouts, this will be the first one in Adams County.
Carmel, by the way, has been replacing signalized intersections with roundabouts since the late 1990s, and it now has more than any other city in the US.
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