City eyeing roundabout solution to dangerous Old Dover Road intersection

Some 8,400 vehicles travel Old Dover Road and 5,800 use Tebbetts Road daily

ROCHESTER - The city is eyeing safety upgrade options for the intersection of Old Dover and Tebbetts roads that could ultimately result in Rochester's second roundabout.
Mike Dugas from the engineering firm of Greenman-Pedersen Inc. led an informational meeting at City Hall last week to let residents know what options were available and gather feedback from the public on any concerns they might have.
Public Works Director Peter Nourse began the meeting with a quick overview of the problem from his perspective, but unfortunately, anyone watching the video streaming on the city website will note that they can't hear what he had to say, because he was nowhere near a microphone.
Dugas, who was at a microphone, said the intersection had been a point of safety concern for at least a decade, adding that in the past 11 and a half years there have been 63 crashes at the intersection, with three motorists suffering serious injuries including one fatal crash in 2018.
He said the state conducted a road safety audit in 2019 and funding was approved in 2021.
Dugas said much of the concern has to do with intersection visibility and the amount of traffic, including tractor trailer units that use Tebbetts, Whitehouse and Old Dover roads to avoid downtown Rochester traffic, which he said puts stress on the intersection.
He noted that studies show that 8,400 a vehicles travel Old Dover Road and 5,800 use Tebbetts Road every day.
Dugas added that during daily commutes traffic can back up on Tebbetts Road, leading to frustration for some drivers who get impatient and try to get onto Old Dover Road in an unsafe manner.
He also said trucks turning onto Old Dover Road commonly use the entire road to make their turns, which exacerbates the problem.
The improvement options range from more signage and beacons, to widening the intersection to installing a four-way stop to constructing a roundabout.
He said if they did a roundabout, it wouldn't be as large as the one currently under construction downtown, but would be closer to the size of the one at The Ridge Marketplace.
He said if a roundabout is determined to be the best solution, money from the federal government would pay for 90 percent of the cost, with the city picking up the other 10 percent.