Return to the Roundabout...

 When the new "roundabout" intersection along Hwy. 62 in eastern Jeffersonville first opened the BatBlog described traveling through it as an "exciting game of Chicken"...and after being open for sometime now.... nothing has changed.

  We suppose the Indiana Dept. of Transportation (INDOT) had good intentions in mind when they designed this complicated intersection,  because on a whole and in the right circumstances "roundabouts" are an effective way to smoothly keep traffic moving without backups and stoplights.  Unfortunately for local drivers the Hwy. 62 application doesn't appear to be appropriate or safe.

 The BatBlog travels through the new roundabout daily and believe me you need to be alert and cautious on every trip. For one thing this roundabout is too complicated with too many options of different routes in a short length of road. There are connections to I-265, Hwy. 62, both east and west, the new east end bridge to Kentucky, Port. Road to the Riverport.

 Drivers entering for the first time have no idea which lane they should be in and most don't know the most important thing in a roundabout and that is to YIELD always YIELD. Semi tractor trailers have a hard time staying in their lanes due to the sweeping curves. We have seen drivers exiting the interstate fly into the roundabout at unreduced speeds.

 INDOT seems determined to make only minimal changes even after Jeff mayor Mike Moore has complained and pointed out the number of accidents that have occurred since the opening. Giant YIELD signs need to be installed but even then the Jeffersonville roundabout continues to be a giant game of Chicken....Stay aware, drive defensively and most of all good luck...