Advertisement Winooski Circle construction project underway Work expected to be complete in August Share Shares Copy Link Copy

One of the state's most accident-prone intersections is getting a makeover this summer.“Usually, I have a couple of kids with me and I almost want to make a break for it. Because I'm not really sure the cars can even see us,” former Winooski resident Brooke Bousquet said.Watch this storyThat's how she feels when she’s walking on the Winooski Circle.“I've seen cars go the wrong way a number of times and just fender benders, Bousquet said. “It's not really clear what lane you should be in.”After nearly a decade in use, the circle is getting an upgrade.While the City of Winooski owns it, VTrans is in charge of the project.From April until August, crews will be repaving and updating crosswalks to improve pedestrian safety, as well as adding new signage.“I think that's a great idea,” Bousquet said.According to VTrans, the Winooski Circle is number six on the state's top list of crash locations.Winooski City Manager Kathy Decarreau said it was at the very top for several years.“It was the number one crash location and the crashes weren't coming down,” Decarreau said. “They were staying the same. So, it didn't appear to be a learning issue. There seemed to be something systemic in the design.”Decarreau said the city was already looking at a new design two years ago, when a man suffered a heart attack behind the wheel and came thru the circle the wrong way, before crashing.“That kind of forced the issue because we would have had to spend a lot of money to fix that signal. And rather than do that, we elected to go with a brand new design,” Decarreau said.While improving safety is the focus, Decarreau hopes the project will open up the center park as a destination, which is something Bousquet would like as well.“To be able to access that safely is a good idea,” Bousquet said.The $1 million project will require some lane closures which VTrans said will be at night.