Anchorage's second set of roundabouts opened for traffic Wednesday afternoon, but not before several commercial truck drivers -- wary of the alien circular intersections -- tested them out first.
Anxiety over the two new roundabouts, at C Street and O'Malley Road, had been brewing for months among truckers who regularly drive through the intersection in their big rigs. It's not easy turning on a dime when you're hauling a set of doubles, after all.
"Everybody was concerned: Will this work or won't it?" said Dale Morman, president of Anchorage Sand & Gravel, which is near the new intersection.
The two roundabouts are part of the $34 million C Street extension project, which is expected to open completely Nov. 17. The project initially called for a conventional intersection, but planners decided the roundabouts would keep traffic moving more smoothly and safely.
Roundabouts reduce serious accidents by some 90 percent compared with conventional intersections, said Rick Feller, a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.
When local trucking companies heard about the roundabout plan, they took their concerns to the state. Anchorage's first roundabouts -- on Dowling Road -- are not popular among truck drivers.
The Dowling roundabouts have a tight turning radius, which means truckers essentially have to use both lanes to get through in their long rigs. They're allowed to do that, Feller said, but "they're nervous to do it" because a car that doesn't yield properly could get in their blind spot.
DOT officials worked closely with the private sector to make sure the new roundabouts would be a better fit. It helped that the state had more right of way at the new intersection than it did on Dowling, Feller said.
The new roundabouts have a larger turning radius and an "apron" -- a wide, red-brick curb that truckers can let their trailers travel over when rounding the turns.
Local truckers were given a classroom tutorial on the new roundabouts Wednesday morning, and then they headed out to the intersection for a spin.
Morman stood at the chilly intersection watching as a line of rumbling tractor-trailers, cement bulkers and concrete mixers entered the roundabout one by one. He commended DOT for listening to the private sector's concerns.
"A lot of it is just the training and the perception that big trucks couldn't get through," he said as he waved a truck into the intersection.
"Go ahead, Scott!"
Before long, seven enormous rigs were navigating the roundabouts. Morman laughed. "It's just fun to watch them all go around in a circle," he said.
Tim Selk, 48, tested the intersection in a friend's Kenworth that had two trailers hitched to the back. All together, the rig was just shy of 120 feet long -- pretty much the longest commercial vehicle allowed on Alaska roads.
Sitting in the truck in a red flannel shirt and blue jeans, Selk, a lifelong Alaskan who has been driving trucks for more than two decades, said the instinct coming into a roundabout in a big rig is to swing wide to make sure the trailers behind you clear. Better to swing wide then come up short, he said.
"With a set of doubles, you're pretty well committed to what you're doing. There's not a lot of backing up."
But you don't have to swing too wide in this roundabout, he learned. "To my surprise, I had more room than I thought. It flows pretty nice."
Daily News reporter Tataboline Brant can be reached at tbrant@ adn.com or 257-4321.
How to negotiate a roundabout
1. SLOW DOWN AS YOU APPROACH: Watch for pedestrians and cyclists, and be prepared to stop if necessary.
2. YIELD THE RIGHT OF WAY: When entering a roundabout, yield to circulating traffic on the left and stop only if the way is not clear.
3. STAY TO THE RIGHT: The roundabout has ONE WAY signs mounted in the center island to help guide traffic and indicate that you must stay to the right of the center island.
4. EXIT THE ROUNDABOUT: Use the right turn signal to indicate where you will be exiting.
Note: If you want to make a left turn, you must travel 3/4 around the central island.
