IN A ROUNDABOUT WAY

In a few years, Mammoth Lakes plans to replace the blinking red lights at Meridian Boulevard and Minaret Road with its first-ever roundabout.

On Wednesday, the Town Council received an update on the project from Christian Heinbaugh, a project manager at engineering firm Kimley-Horn who has designed, evaluated, and reviewed more than 600 roundabouts across the country.

“The huge benefit to [roundabouts] is safety,” Heinbaugh said. “It splits all of our decision points as a driver.”

The idea of a roundabout at this busy intersection isn’t new. 

The Town first studied the concept in 1998 as a way to improve traffic flow and safety. It has appeared in planning documents ever since. 

In the late 2000s, early construction plans were drafted as part of a “road diet” that would have slimmed down Meridian Boulevard, but funding shortfalls shelved the broader project around 2009.

Now the roundabout is back on track. The Town secured State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) funds in the 2024–25 fiscal year to complete final design and prepare construction-ready plans.

In April 2025, the Council approved a contract with Kimley-Horn to move the design forward. Construction funding is currently scheduled for the 2029–30 fiscal year.

The roundabout’s design features a single travel lane circling a central landscaping element, with a truck apron to accommodate larger vehicles.

“There’s a slight vertical component to it,” Heinbaugh explained. “It’s kind of like an upside-down plate rather than a curb. It isn’t very comfortable and discourages regular passenger cars from cutting straight through.”

He showed how a plow might use the apron to push snow off the road, which prompted skepticism from the council about snow removal.

Councilmember Bill Sauser questioned how snowplows would navigate the truck apron during major storms, and how operators would clear berms from the multiple roads feeding into the circle.

Heinbaugh and Town staff reassured the council that the design accounts for snow operations.

“There’s already a dance that occurs,” said Public Works Director Haislip Hayes. “It’s not a problem. These problems have been solved for years.”

Town Attorney Andy Morris agreed. “There are 14 of these where I live in Truckee, and our operators have figured out how to work with them.”