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Conway gets 27th roundabout. Yes, 27th.

If you feel like you've been driving in circles, you may be in Conway.

CONWAY, Ark. — If you feel like you've been driving in circles, you may be in Conway.

"We love roundabouts, they keep traffic moving and keeping traffic moving is obviously a priority for Mayor Bart Castleberry," Conway Communications Coordinator Bobby Kelly said.

Monday, construction on the city's 27th roundabout began.
This one is part of a bigger project.

"This project consists of four phases. We've already started on phase one which is chestnut street to this intersection that you see me in right now. Phase two was the excavation of Van Ronkle Street at the intersection you see me at right now, and phase three will be the continuation of Van Ronkle,” Kelly said.

Phase four consists of constructing the new roundabout.
City workers want drivers to be able to easily access all parts of the community.

"We want folks to be able to access the roads to get to western Conway but particularly we want easy access to Markham Street,” Kelly said.  

Conway city staff said they aren’t aware of any fatal crashes at the roundabouts, and that's one of the reasons they keep putting them in.

"Roundabouts are much safer statistically,” Kelly said.

The city says they've decreased traffic issues.

Some people we spoke to off camera said they don't want any more, while others said, "Keep them coming!"

"I love them I think they're efficient they keep traffic moving," resident Brittany Schluterman said.

With North Little Rock neighbors having one single roundabout in the city, they may still take getting used to for drivers unfamiliar with the area.

"You can definitely tell who's not from Conway," Schluterman said.

There's no estimated completion date yet for this project. Currently, workers are replacing an old drainage culvert in the area, which can add some time. 

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