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Community Corner

Roundabout: "The Worst" is Over, Official Says

It's still a construction site, but it's also a functioning roundabout that can handle the largest 18-wheeler on the Island, said Oak Bluffs Highway Department Superintendent Richard Combra, Jr.

After weeks of construction and sometimes lengthy backups, the Oak Bluffs roundabout at Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road and Barnes Road began circling traffic as designed this week, the town's highway superintendent told selectmen.

"It's a functioning roundabout now," Richard Combra, Jr. said during Tuesday's board of selectmen meeting at the library.

"Yesterday was probably the worst day," Combra continued. "Hopefully that was the hardest part of the construction."

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Not only is the roundabout carrying passenger-vehicle traffic without a hitch, Combra told selectmen: Tuesday, the largest 18-wheel tractor-trailer operating on Island roads went through it with no problems.

Big-rigs' rear wheels may encounter dirt as they circle the roundabout, Combra said, but that "doesn’t mean it’s not working, it just means it’s not complete."

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The finished circle will be larger, he said.

While construction continues, Combra told selectmen, he does not expect any more traffic to be diverted away from the roundabout, although there may be single-lane closures at times.

The roundabout project is within a few days of being on schedule, Combra said, and the adjacent bicycle path and bus stops will be asphalted before work is suspended for the summer.

What do you think of the controversial Oak Bluffs roundabout? Tell us in the comments.

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