(Peoria, IL)­­—The Allen and Hickory Grove Intersection Roundabout will be officially opened November 19, 2012 at noon. The $1.3 million project was funded by Dunlap School District to improve intersection and a portion of Hickory Grove Road in conjunction with the construction of a new Dunlap grade school. The benefits of the roundabout include: vehicle and pedestrian safety, drive time savings, fuel savings, reduction of air emissions and decreased long term maintenance costs.

Public Works Interim Director, Jeff Smith says, “Roundabouts are designed to make intersections safer and more efficient for drivers, pedestrian and cyclists.” A few key points to remember when driving roundabouts are:

· Slow down as you near the roundabout
· Yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk
· Yield to vehicles already in the roundabout
· Enter to the right
· Drive counter-clockwise around the roundabout
· Signal to exit
· Slowly exit to the right to leave the roundabout
· Yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk as you leave the roundabout.
· Since this is a school crossing, pay particular attention to school age children crossing and to the crossing guards.

To learn more about driving roundabouts, go to the website, www.ci.peoria.il.us/roundabout. For more information, contact Scott Reeise, Public Works engineer at (309) 494-8818