Glastonbury – The construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Hebron Avenue and New London Turnpike to ease traffic congestion will not take place this year.

The $1.5 million project to build a roundabout at the intersection and another at the House Street intersection will be delayed until April or May of 2017 due to a number of factors according to Town Manager Richard J. Johnson.

"It's been very difficult for us because we very much wanted to complete the project this year," Town Manager Richard J. Johnson said. "We shared that goal, but we want to make what we think is the best decision in the long run because you could get caught [by winter]."

Work on the Hebron Avenue/New London Turnpike roundabout was scheduled to begin this summer with the Hebron Avenue/House Street roundabout in the summer of 2017. But delays in finalizing easements, waiting for granite curbing and wiring the replacement utility poles have led to town officials to worry about not finishing the project before winter.

The town will bid both projects later this year or early next year and have crews in place to begin the project as soon as possible. The House Street roundabout won't be started until the New London one is significantly completed, town officials noted.

"There would have to be a consecutive type of construction rather than concurrent," Town Engineer Director of Physical Service Daniel A. Pennington said. "The type of construction could overlap a little by about a month."

Johnson said he is hoping for economy of scale by bidding both projects together. The House Street roundabout will cost $1.6 million which will be paid for with a state grant.

"The bidding market is not certain," Johnson said. "So we have to polish our crystal ball to determine if we will achieve economies...when we first talked about the project, we indicated it would be a challenging schedule given the time for design and easements and other matters."

The plan is expected to ease traffic congestion and reduce the accident rate along the stretch of Hebron Avenue from the Route 2 off-ramp west into the town center by keeping traffic moving through the town center instead of waiting at a long traffic signal. Vehicles follow a yield-at-entry rule: approaching vehicles must wait for a gap in the traffic flow before entering the circle.

"Personally I don't see the point of taking the risk in trying to get it done before the end of November," councilman Whit C. Osgood said.

Councilman Lawrence J. Byar said he would have liked to have seen the project substantially completed in 2016.

"But unfortunately there are too many uncertainties at this point," he said, "whether with easements or lead times on special orders or movement of utility lines. It wasn't too long ago we had a huge snowstorm in October...it's getting late in the season to try and sneak this one in."