PILOT MOUNTAIN — Construction is set to begin on two roundabouts at N.C. 268 at the U.S. 52 on and off ramps this week.

According to Jamie Gwyn, resident engineer with the N.C. Department of Transportation, the majority of the work will be completed by Oct. 29 and every effort will be made to not disrupt the flow of traffic in that area until the project is completed.

The roundabouts are designed to keep traffic moving at all times. She said the project is a solution to the heavy congestion on that stretch of N.C. 268 at the exit ramps. Roundabouts only allow traffic to travel right, Gwyn said.

Traffic lights now at the intersections will have to be removed for construction to get underway. Temporary stop signs have already been put up.

Philip Shepherd, division design engineer with the DOT, explained how roundabouts work.

“Roundabouts are yield conditions. Once you are in the circle, you have the right-of-way. It’s basically like a normal intersection, you just go around in a circle until you get to the leg you want to get off on,” Shepherd said.

He said roundabouts are fairly new to the state, noting the first one in his division is in Wilkes County. The two in Pilot Mountain will be the second and third roundabouts. There is a fourth one planned in Caldwell County, and a fifth one is planned for Watauga County. He said roundabouts keep traffic moving much better than a traffic signal.

“It is a terrific way to slow down traffic. It will handle a great deal of volume. They are very safe because it slows traffic down. Because it’s at such a slow speed, you get much fewer accidents, and if there is an accident, it’s much less severe,” Shepherd said.

He said the initial plan called to add an additional traffic light at the Key Street side of the bridge, nearest McDonald’s. One traffic light already exists at the Neighbors/Wendy’s side of the bridge.

“Because of the close proximity, they were not going to operate efficiently. So they told us to go with this option,” Shepherd said.

N.C. 268 will be widened to three lanes from the U.S. 52 bridge to Shoals Road. That construction will be completed by Oct. 29. The east side of N.C. 268, or Key Street, will be widened from the U.S. 52 bridge to Hope Valley Road beside Southern Community Bank and will be under construction until Dec. 30.

No construction will be allowed to disrupt traffic in the area from 5 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. each day.

Dean Ledbetter, N.C. DOT division traffic engineer, said he is excited about the project that will lengthen the life span of the bridge at that location. Without the roundabouts, he said, the bridge would have to be widened to a three- or four-lane bridge.

The project is being funded through the N.C. Department of Transportation.

Contact Mondee Tilley at mtilley@mtairynews.com or at 719-1930.