Roundabouts continue to be one of the most effective tools for improving intersection safety, significantly reducing fatal and serious injury crashes across Minnesota.
At this year’s MTC&E conference, the session Rural Roundabouts: Practical Design to Save More Lives focused on reducing costs by replacing standard features with less expensive countermeasures that provide similar performance in rural contexts so that agencies can afford to build more roundabouts.
This session was presented by Alliant’s Abby Rieckman and Peter Harff, and MnDOT’s Forrest Hasty, Jamal Love, and Thomas Austin.
Smarter Rural Roundabouts Without Reinventing the Wheel
A typical roundabout can cost more than $2 million to construct, which makes it difficult to implement them as widely as they are needed. This session highlighted how MnDOT and its partners are working to address that challenge by exploring design approaches that maintain safety benefits while reducing overall costs.
Jamal Love shared findings from MnDOT’s research, including how rural roundabout designs are performing and how Minnesota compares to other states. One key takeaway is that reducing curb and gutter or eliminating side paths in rural settings can lead to meaningful cost savings. While removing curb can introduce concerns such as rutting or slightly higher speeds, the team discussed practical, lower-cost countermeasures that can address those issues effectively. In many rural areas, foregoing side paths is already a common and context-appropriate approach.
Project examples brought these concepts to life. Abby Rieckman and Forrest Hasty highlighted the TH 111 and Nicollet CSAH 5 roundabout, while Tom Austin shared lessons learned from the TH 63, TH 247, and Olmsted CSAH 12 project. Each example reinforced the importance of designing for context and coordinating closely with project partners.
Turning Cost Savings into More Life-Saving Projects
MnDOT has also developed a process to help determine when a roundabout is a good candidate for a rural design and how to move that approach forward. That clarity helps teams make informed decisions while still prioritizing safety. As Tom noted during the session, saving about $400,000 on a rural roundabout means that for every five built, agencies could fund a sixth. That kind of efficiency can make a real difference in getting more safety improvements on the ground.
The session drew a full room and strong participation, reflecting the growing interest in practical, scalable solutions that help save lives on Minnesota’s roadways.