Branson Roundabouts?

[Junior]

You are already familiar with the roundabout north of Branson Landing near Skaggs Hospital. They are building another roundabout on the Hollister side of the Taneycomo Bridge. Should Branson continue to build more of these intersections, to keep traffic flowing better, and avoid the high cost of maintaining traffic lights? Your call...

[Nate65807]

I know two people who find them very confusing, but I love them and have no problem whatsoever navigating through them. Beats waiting at a red light any day.

[cheesehead57]

We have quite a lot of roundabouts here in Northern WI.....in some of the areas it was better with stop lights and turning arrows for the truckers.....other intersections do OK if they are not too tight......it's hard plowing snow here on a straight road, let alone trying toclean up the center of the roundabout.

[Zalo9]

When people ask for directions to someplace in Branson, I tell them to drive into the roundabout and "take the first left".  

[Ozark Outlaw]

Roundabouts are definitely the new fad right now. There are several of them in a new subdivision here in central Arkansas. I enjoy them so long as I don't get stuck inside of them. 

[Junior]

They are building a few roundabouts in northwest Arkansas, too. One in Bentonville is in an area that is not as heavily trafficked as say, downtown, but it is an area of new development, and traffic will increase there in the future.

[sanddunerider]

roundabouts

[Nate65807]

If you don't like the roundabout at Branson Landing/Skaggs, I personally recommend taking Hwy 76 East from Hwy 65. After all, you get to see historic downtown Branson, including the famous Dick's Five and Dime shop, a fine piece of history, indeed. And you get to use a regular intersection to get to the Landing.

Added bonus for those of you anxiously anticipating lights this winter: You get to see lots of lights on this road and almost year round too! It's a shame that all of them are red and on the back of the hundreds of cars in front of you, LOL ;-)

[shavethewhales]

When I lived in England, I encountered enough roundabouts for my lifetime. They work great in situations where there's more traffic than a simple 4-way stop can handle efficiently, but a light is overkill. Beyond that, I'm not much of a fan. I still don't understand the reasoning behind combining traffic lights and roundabouts together for busy intersections. I remember once we had to stop at a light three or four times just to turn right.

[Ozark Outlaw]

I never thought about it, but I actually did save time by taking the route with the roundabout versus the standard Highway 76 entrance into Old Branson. When I used the Highway 76 route, I got caught behind two buses who decided to unload all of their passengers in the middle of the roadway, and then when I exited, it seemed like every parked car was ready to backup into the roadway to leave.

I am a fan of the roundabouts though, simply because they are a break up in the monotony.

Shavethewhales I am not sure if we are both talking about the exact same roundabout, but the one just north of the landing doesn't have a traffic light so no worries there. 

[Junior]

I read yesterday in the Nov/Dec issue of "The Ozarks Mountaineer" (A Regional magazine) that the Branson roundabout at the Lake Taneycomo bridge was slated to open November 1st. Has anyone travelled that route in the last few days? How is the new roundabout? I understand from the same article the new Taneycomo bridge is open now, too. The old bridge will be rehabilitated and given a total makeover over the course of the next year. Then, both bridges will remain open. The new bridge goes right to Branson Landing. The old bridge will follow the same Branson/Hollister route and will connect with Highway 76 east to take you to Forsyth as always.

[sanddunerider]

I didnt realize the old bridge would remain open after being reworked.  that should work nicely for traffic flow.