Sunday, November 9, 2025
A peanut-shaped roundabout on Linwood Avenue and 2nd Avenue in Tumwater is moving forward with the possible start of construction near the end of the year.
The Tumwater Public Works Committee authorized the solicitation of bids for the construction of the roundabout at a meeting on Thursday, Aug 21.
The roundabout is intended to address traffic and safety issues linked to the intersection’s current design. At present, it is stop-controlled with multiple approach lanes, a setup that often confuses drivers, according to city documents.
The project also includes sidewalk and stormwater upgrades, along with resurfacing and restriping on 2nd Avenue between Linwood Avenue and B Street.
The project is anticipated to cost between $3.5 million and $4.3 million.
About half of that funding would come from the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School Program, which seeks to make travel by foot or bicycle safer for children.
The remaining costs would be covered by the city through a mix of sources, including revenue from the Transportation Benefit District, impact fees and capital facilities fund.
Once a contractor has been selected, the project could begin at the end of the year, according to Ryan Blaser, a city engineer. The intersection may also be closed to outside traffic for at least two months.
“Without a road closure, it'll lengthen the construction and increase the impact on the public,” Blaser said.
He added that staff have been coordinating with the fire and public departments to guarantee them 24 hour, seven day per week access to use the road, as well as with Intercity Transit and the Tumwater School District in order to make necessary adjustments to accommodate the closure.
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Southsoundguy
What a stupid idea. Bravo to the engineers pitching this stuff and keeping that grant gravy train rolling.
Monday, August 25 Report this
SecondOtter
What is it with Tumwater and it's ongoing Roundabout Fever? This intersection doesn't need a roundabout. It's a good ol' fashioned Four Way Stop, one I've been using for years and only on one or two occasions have I had someone transit it out of turn. "Confuses drivers?" T Stop then take turns is not confusing. Even children understand that. No, "confusing drivers' is just gaslighting. The confusing thing in the area is the three ring circus on Capitol and Trosper. Every day I see someone bolt or just ignore the fact that the car of the left, IN the roundabout has right of way. I've even seen someone try to make a LEFT TURN on the roundabout that leads to I-5 north bound ramp. He was coming west on trosper, STOPPED, then entered the roundabout from the LEFT, only stopping when someone who had the right of way in the roundabout honked. Duh. I guess Round the Circle was his confusion.
Linwood and 2nd doesn't need a roundabout. It needs to be repaved. Period.
Monday, August 25 Report this
Honestyandrealityguy
$4.3 million to add concrete in the middle of the road? Hmmm
Monday, August 25 Report this
MikeInOly
Thank goodness. It is so long overdue and absolutely will make this space better. It is one of the most problematic intersections I have to deal with on the regular. 90% of drivers have no clue how to navigate a four way stop and it is just a complete circus every time I need to get thru it. This will be so much better and allow traffic to flow much more smoothly.
Monday, August 25 Report this
SunterraTrail
Thank you, Tumwater! Can't wait to see it get started.
Monday, August 25 Report this
WhamboMPS
Seems like everyone has an opinion about roundabouts. Some people love 'em while others think they are an abomination. But when you consider how they work, it's virtually impossible to have a head on collision in a roundabout. And while "T-bone" collisions are possible, the fact that drivers are forced to slow down when approaching a roundabout means those collisions that do occur have reduced injuries. The real-world studies consistently affirm these facts. Consider the following from a 2023 article in Fast Company:
"The Federal Highway Administration estimates that when a roundabout replaces a stop-sign-controlled intersection, it reduces serious and fatal injury crashes by 90%, and when it replaces an intersection with a traffic light, it reduces serious and fatal injury crashes by nearly 80%."
I personally love roundabouts and as someone who has to navigate this intersection on a regular basis, I can't wait.
A final thought about the comments in this thread from "SecondOtter" on what he (reasonably!) called "the three ring circus on Capitol and Trosper." I think that intersection is awesome: I rarely have to wait more than a few seconds, an incredible improvement from the previous design.
Way to go City of Tumwater! Keep on truckin'!
Monday, August 25 Report this
ShannoninWA67
I feel this is a good thing. I know many people don't like round abouts. People who don't know how to drive will not do any better with a light, roundabout, or 4- way stop. I've had more than a few occasions where I came up first or second to that stop and someone will after me taps their brakes then goes through the intersection. People in roundabouts feel they all have the right of way. And people run red lights all the time.
I see this as a good thing. I see it improve flow of traffic. The flow of traffic is better at the new roundabout near Walmart/ home depot. That was a death trap trying to turn left from the stop sign. People went 40 or more in a 25mph zone along Tyee. At least the roundabout slows them down and it's much easier to turn onto Tyee Dr from Kingswood Dr.
Tuesday, August 26 Report this
TomBoucher
Haha, quite agreed on the Capitol & Trosper series of roundabouts, I feel like a pinball in that thing. :)
However, I'm an almost daily user of 2nd and Linwood and had some close calls in my car and my bike. So this is welcome.
BTW: "Roundabouts reduced injury crashes by 75 percent at intersections where stop signs or traffic signals were previously used for traffic control, according to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Studies by the IIHS and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) have shown that roundabouts typically achieve:
A 37 percent reduction in overall collisions
A 75 percent reduction in injury collisions
A 90 percent reduction in fatality collisions
A 40 percent reduction in pedestrian collisions
Source: https://wsdot.wa.gov/travel/traffic-safety-methods/roundabouts"
Tuesday, August 26 Report this
jimlazar
I am a strong advocate of properly designed roundabouts. They keep traffic flowing and they reduce injury accidents.
But one critical element is that they must have enough deflection that cars slow down a lot as they enter. The Tumwater roundabouts on Littlerock Road work well.
But other roundabouts do not work well. Lacey's big two-lane roundabouts on Marvin Road, and on Pacific/Lacey Boulevard are too big and too fast.
Olympia's roundabout at Eskridge and Henderson is extremely dangerous, and I know of one serious injury accident and multiple fender-benders where drivers Southbound on Henderson do not slow. The problem is that there is not enough deflection, and the entry gap is too wide. It should be about 13 feet wide, and some in Olympia are as wide as 19 feet. That means cars are going too fast when they enter. Eventually, Olympia will pay out a big lawsuit settlement on one of these when people are injured, and maybe they will fix them then.
There really is a science to traffic engineering, and we have a mixed record of performance.
Tuesday, August 26 Report this
Porter
Lets make every new intersection a roundabout
Tuesday, August 26 Report this
JW
S 2nd and Trosper needs a roundabout far more than this intersection. S 2nd/Trosper is such a drag on traffic through the area due to the excessive amount of light cycles.
And reference the anti-roundabouters here, if you can't navigate a simple roundabout then you need your license revoked. It's incredibly simple.
Tuesday, August 26 Report this
MamaBear98512
This is the happiest news ever! For all of those anti-roundabout comments on this article, you all surely don't go through this intersection on the daily. It isn't your standard "four way stop", but an eight way stop counting the turn lanes in each direction. People can't figure out how that all works and there are near collisions constantly. So stressful as a pedestrian as well. This is a welcome change. Thank you City of Tumwater!
Tuesday, August 26 Report this
BigAbe74
$3.5-4.3 Mil EST for this project? Only if pervious asphalt & concrete is to be used and there will be no storm line going in. This seems to be another project way under estimated from the start. If the city goes with the fancy green poles, then might as well double the cost of the street lighting.
Tuesday, August 26 Report this
SecondOtter
Jim Lazar brings up a good point. No, you can't have a head on collision but the builders of the roundabouts don't seem to realize that an 18 wheeler in a roundabout stakes up needs to take up two lanes. I was at the roundabout at Golf Club road in Lacey and saw a trucker side swipe the car in the right lane. It wasn't pretty, either.
Truckers have to go up on the center island to make those turns. In addition, the city fathers seem to feel the need to plant trees and shrubs in the center island of a round about. This c completely negates the concept of a roundabout, because i cant'' SEE if someone is in the roundabout.
But then again, once the vegetation is planted, for the first few months it's pretty until it dies of neglect.
And for some reason, people still literally run into the center planters. The roundabout on Littlerock/Israel road has an raised center portion for the plants. It's been run into at least three times, breaking the concrete curb into pieces. I have no idea why, it's not the truckers doing it, the last time I saw it was a guy in a small SUV.
There ARE some folks who know how to design a roundabout to accommodate big rigs. The one in front of the Flying J on 93rd and I-5 have slight rises instead of curbs and the truckers all leave their lane and roll onto it before they exit the roundabout for the station. That makes sense.
Tuesday, August 26 Report this
pabco33
I drive through this intersection multiple times a day. Yes, there are some that can't figure out a four way stop, but putting in another roundabout isn't the answer. Until drivers start signaling when they exit the roundabout, they are worse than a four way stop. Plus not being able to use that intersection for at least two months? That is the only way to get to/from Capitol from that area of Tumwater. How about guarantying access to those of us who live in the neighborhood! Just another poor decision from Tumwater.
Tuesday, September 2 Report this