THE Kitty roundabout is scheduled to be officially opened to motorists within the next three weeks, officials of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure said Thursday. The project, which is approximately 98 per cent complete, is in its final stage with road markings and installation of signs ongoing.

At a press conference Thursday at the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, design engineer, Imran Baksh explained that the previous intersection was transformed to a roundabout because there will be fewer collision points, while traffic delays will be significantly reduced.
“It [roundabout] also allows for reduced delays, since you would not have to stop at the intersection. It reduces travel time and fuel consumption and importantly, reduces the severity of collisions,” Baksh explained.

The previous intersection was a “channeled and signalised” main access route into Georgetown. It also consisted of six legs: Kitty Public Road, Vlissingen Road, JB Chandisingh Street, Carifesta Avenue, Seawall road and Rupert Craig Highway.
According to Baksh, the current intersection at the roundabout has three stages of movements and five stages of signalisation.

In the first stage, vehicles turning right from Carifesta Avenue are allowed to go and vehicles heading west along the Kitty Public Road have to yield before making a right turn.
In the second stage, vehicles that were previously turning right from Carifesta Avenue onto Vlissengen Road will now stop and allow vehicles to go to Kitty Public Road.
In the final stage, vehicles heading north along JB Chandisingh Street and turning onto Rupert Craig Highway will now be allowed to go, as a consequence, vehicles west-bound and east-bound will be required to stop.

The roundabout was also the best option for the intersection, since an analysis has determined that there are now 30-seconds delays as opposed to the previous 80 seconds.
The analysis also recommended that traffic signals be installed west-bound to Kitty Public Road and north-bound to JB Chandisingh Street. The lights will only be utilised during peak hours.

Meanwhile, design engineer, Jorge Clinton said motorists must not overtake while using the roundabout; they must adhere to the speed limit which is 30 kilometer per hour, and must not stop in the circulatory lanes.

Should there be an emergency vehicle behind a motorist, there should be no stopping. Instead, the motorist should continue through the roundabout and pull over after safely leaving the roundabout.

Clinton said too that motorists should never drive alongside a truck as the truck might require additional space to safely manoeuvre the circulating lane.
Moreover, the engineer said pedestrians must give way to vehicles entering and exiting the roundabout and must also use the designated crosswalks and never cross the circulatory lanes.

Additionally, there are two bypass lanes from the Kitty Public Road to Vlissengen Road and from JB Chandisingh Road to Carifesta Avenue. There will be no entry to the Seawall Road which has a wide opening for large trucks.

Meanwhile, senior engineer, Sherod Parkinson urged motorists to practice the ‘five-Cs – Care, Caution, Consideration, Courtesy and Commonsense, when using the roundabout.
He said “They are far more important when using the roundabout. We have to be careful, considerate and cautious, looking out for other drivers and use the roundabout in a manner that would allow for everybody to get out safely.”

The roundabout is partially opened to traffic and is expected to be fully opened by Independence Day.

At the intersection, there is a circle with an inscribed diameter of 60 metres, a circulatory lane of 11 metres and a truck apron of 2 metres.

Earlier in the year, a $78.9M contract was awarded to S. Jagmohan Hardware Supplies and Construction Services for works on the roundabout. (DPI)