$14 Million Roundabout Proposed For Fairfield's Post Road Circle

FAIRFIELD, CT — The dangerous and confusing Post Road Circle may soon be replaced by a roundabout.

Plans for the reconfiguration were recently discussed at the final public workshop for the Post Road Circle Study, which was established to improve the safety, accessibility and navigability of the area. Experts presented plans for a nearly $14 million peanut-shaped roundabout project, as well as a more than $9 million signalized alternative.

“We just think the roundabout does a much better job of slowing traffic overall,” said Mike Morehouse, vice president of innovation and growth for consultant Fitzgerald & Halliday, during last week's virtual workshop. “This whole area really needs to be reconstructed for this to work.”

The project extends along the Post Road from Benson Road to Shoreham Village Drive, covering a four-lane area that sees more than 20,000 vehicles daily and has been the site of about 220 crashes in three years, including one fatality on Shoreham Village Drive.

A roundabout would slow vehicles to roughly 20 mph and minimize weaving, said presenters at the Dec. 15 workshop, which was attended by about 50 people who gave generally positive feedback. The proposal would also create more green space for stormwater absorption, and could include adding sidewalks to the entire stretch of the Post Road within the project's scope and reducing road width or lanes along sections of the Post Road.

The undertaking is in the preliminary stages and is expected to take years to complete, according to Fairfield Engineering Manager Bill Hurley, who noted the timeline will be determined by funding and resource availability. The area of the Post Road around the circle is a state road, Hurley said, and the town plans to seek grants, as well as collaborate with the state and the Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments to pay for the project. Construction may be done in three stages, according to Hurley, who also said the signalized option could be installed first and later be converted to the roundabout as funding allows.

For more information or to submit a comment on the plan, go to bit.ly/post-road-circle.