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Is the City of Fortuna ready for roundabouts? 

It depends on whom you ask. A recent social media post proved divisive on that question, though the conversation was based on a couple of conceptual designs that have not been (and may never be) approved.

Still, the post quickly racked up nearly 100 comments, with sentiments ranging from supportive (“That’s actually the best use I’ve seen for a roundabout”) to incredulous (“I hope this is a joke”) to vehemently opposed (“NOO!!!).

One photo in particular seemed to leave people scratching their heads:

In an email, Fortuna City Manager Merritt Perry explained that this “photo simulation” doesn’t depict an approved design. Rather, it’s a conceptual image from a proposal submitted to the city by engineering firm GHD in a bid to perform preliminary design and permitting work.

The caption that accompanied the social post claimed that the roundabouts are “Coming soon,” which is also not quite accurate. Roundabouts may eventually be built at two major interchanges of Fortuna streets near Highway 101, but even under the most optimistic timeline neither project will be completed for at least five years, according to Fortuna Public Works Director Brendan Byrd.

”If we got grant funding magically tomorrow, the earliest construction [start date] would probably be three to four years [away],” he said, adding that the work itself would likely take another 18-24 months. 

Fortuna staffers have been working since at least 2010 — with Caltrans, the Humboldt County Association of Governments (HCAOG), the public and other stakeholders — on ways to improve and “modernize” the Kenmar and 12th Street interchanges with Highway 101, with the goals of enhancing traffic flow and safety while increasing pedestrian and bike connectivity on both sides of the highway. 

In a phone interview, Byrd said the city’s 2010 General Plan Update found those two interchanges would soon be outmoded. In fact, they’re already problematic. 

“There’s no bike or pedestrian connectivity, and during peak hours there can be traffic backups, sometimes onto the highway,” Byrd said, adding that the confluence of Hwy. 101, 12th Street and Newburg Road can get “pretty dicey sometimes.”

A project study completed in 2021 found that during peak traffic hours, there’s a poor “level of service” at the 12th Street interchange as a result of closely spaced, stop-controlled intersections. Furthermore, this interchange has no bicycle or pedestrian facilities and the various intersections can be confusing to visitors, the study found.

In March, the Fortuna City Council approved an Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND, a type of environmental review) for an improvement plan at the Kenmar Road interchange, though at the time the plan was only about 30 percent designed, and the funding to complete it has yet to be identified.

Staff continues to work on the preliminary design and permitting phases for redesign projects at both interchanges, using funding from a sustainable communities grant administered through Caltrans. Engineers have come up with a range of designs that could improve performance at the interchanges, and almost all of them involve roundabouts.

For example, here’s a design that includes two roundabouts at Kenmar:

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Civil engineers say these circuitous traffic features would solve many of the existing problems at these points of traffic confluence. With the Kenmar project, the city has yet to secure funding for final design, right-of-way work or construction, though Byrd said there are some promising possibilities from the federal government, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and other economic stimulus legislation from the Biden administration.

Both projects will be expensive. Byrd said it will likely cost $25 million to complete all phases of the Kenmar improvement project. And the interchange upgrades at 12th Street?

“I imagine that one could be upward of double that amount,” Byrd said, noting the project’s huge footprint and the necessary structural modifications to the overpass.

Meanwhile, the Great Redwood Trail Agency has expressed concerns about public safety, pedestrian and bike access and the potential for roundabouts to interfere with the railbanking process, which is intended to keep the railroad right-of-way intact in case trains ever make an unlikely return through the Eel River Valley.

“We put a lot of thought into the design for how to navigate bike and pedestrian access through there,” Byrd said of the Kenmar project. Staff will continue to coordinate with the GRTA and other agencies as these projects move forward.

City staff is also working with adjacent landowners, including Clendenen’s Cider Works and Sequoia Gas.

“We’ve got a long way to go,” Byrd said.