South Jaye Street & Montgomery Avenue Roundabout Improvement Project

Access issues, such as intersection spacing and vehicle stacking, along Jaye Street in the City of Porterville were problematic. Chief among the issues was prohibited left-turn movements from a fueling station/convenience store onto Jaye Street to gain access back to Highway 190, and from the adjacent highway frontage road less than 100 feet from South Jaye Street/Highway 190. Despite the City’s efforts, driver’s seeking access increased the probability for collisions and resulted in the location becoming a police ‘hot spot’, this lead to increased complaints from local businesses and motorists, prompting the City to examine alternatives. The City collaborated with Omni-Means, who examined traffic operations and found that over 90% of the southbound traffic from the frontage road attempting to make a right-turn was making a mid-block “u-turn”, hardly better than the illegal left-turn. A raised median and a roundabout at Jaye Street/Montgomery Avenue were recommended to improve and address the operational and safety issues. Omni-Means developed several viable roundabout alternative solutions with varying geometric configurations and then presented a “Project Design Report” identifying the preferred alternative. It was chosen for its ability to meet all operational needs, now and future, while minimizing right-of way impacts and providing local access/circulation. A critical component, the Walmart Distribution Center (400+ daily truck trips), is well served by the roundabout. With a solution, the City partnered with Omni-Means to implement a public outreach program and prepare the PS&E package. The project went to bid in fall 2013 with construction completed in July 2014.