Hapcheon-gun Changes Dangerous Intersections to Roundabouts

Roundabouts Have Lower Traffic Accident Rates Compared to At-Grade Intersections

Hapcheon-gun Creates Safe Traffic Environment by Changing to Roundabout Installation (Photo by Hapcheon-gun)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongnam announced on the 6th that it has created a safer traffic environment for residents and visitors by installing roundabouts at intersections with a high risk of traffic accidents.

The county has 20 roundabouts within its jurisdiction, and 9 of these are installed on national and provincial roads. Due to their high efficiency, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Gyeongnam Province are gradually increasing the number of installations.

A roundabout, a type of at-grade intersection, features a central circular traffic island. Vehicles circulating around the central island have the right of way, and generally, roundabouts have a lower traffic accident rate compared to at-grade intersections.

Since vehicles must travel at low speeds, driver fatigue can be reduced. Additionally, compared to signalized intersections, roundabouts have lower maintenance costs and reduced delay times, which leads to economic benefits such as decreased fuel consumption and reduced exhaust emissions.

A county official stated, “Hapcheon-gun has a relatively high installation rate of roundabouts within Gyeongnam Province, but we will continue to improve to provide a safe traffic environment for residents and visitors.”

Hapcheon-gun is promoting the installation projects of the ‘Dumo Roundabout’ in Dumo-ri, Samga-myeon, and the ‘Roundabout in front of Samga High School’ in Ilburi, Samga-myeon, with a project budget of 480 million KRW (280 million KRW from national funds). The ‘Yeonchon Roundabout Installation Project’ in Gopum-ri, Yongju-myeon is being promoted with a project budget of 300 million KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.