The county is hosting four more education sessions in the next two weeks (see box).

County engineer Stephen Wilson was interrupted by irate residents several times during his 20-minute presentation. Luckily for him, other audience members shouted them down so he could continue. The roundabouts won’t arrive anytime in the immediate future, Wilson said. The county is in a six-month planning and programming phase. The design phase lasts for 18 months, followed by another 10 months of construction.

Many of the complaints at the meeting dealt with the specifics of the area, such as whether the projects would actually relieve congestion.

But one man walked out of the meeting disgusted that the county would spend between $600,000 and $800,000 on a roundabout when county roads are in need of repair, a notion met with nodding heads and murmured support from several others.

The estimated costs for a roundabout at three different intersections ranged from $400,000 to $800,000 each, according to the county’s memo.

But the county says roundabouts cost taxpayers about $10,500 less annually than traffic signals, due to the cost of maintaining and powering the signals.