Woodlawn/Claxton Dairy intersection to be closed for roundabout work

What was planned to take the remainder of the year, will now be completed by the end of July.

The intersection at Woodlawn Drive and Claxton Dairy Road will be closed beginning May 26, giving Total Earth Services’ employees the time to work on and complete a single-lane roundabout.

City of Dublin Engineering Director Matthew Bradshaw said TES approached them with the idea of shutting the intersection down for a few months, which would allow workers to finish the job faster. The contract to complete the roundabout ends at the completion of 2026. Demo work has already begun at the site. 

“This way there will be a lot less interruptions, instead of it being drawn out month after month,” Bradshaw said. “It will be shut down, and the work will get done.”

Blake Graham, with TES, said the work should be completed by the end of July.

“This will be a lot safer for our guys to work,” Graham said. “The work can be done a lot faster and safer.”

Detour and closure signs will be posted along the route to warn drivers of the work. 

“There will be road closed signs at every point of it,” Bradshaw said. “Before that time, probably beginning Friday and maybe some on Monday, a company is going to come in and put up some detour signs. That way people will know exactly where the roads are closed, and it will give them directions. There will be a detour sign in every direction.”  

Even though the intersection will be shut down, people will be able to access the self-storage units, Department of Family and Children Services and other sites near the intersection. They just will not be able to travel through the intersection.

“This intersection connects to major roads like Hillcrest, Moore Street, Brookhaven and Claxton Dairy,” Bradshaw said. “All of these roads are major roads that move traffic around the city. That’s why it is so busy.”

Currently, there is a four-way stop which includes a straight travel lane and a left turn lane from all four directions at Woodlawn Drive and Claxton Dairy Road.

“It does happen sometimes where you can have five or six cars all pull up at the same time,” Bradshaw said. “And then they sit there wondering who goes first?”

This same intersection was originally a two-way stop. Those traveling on Woodlawn Drive had to stop for traffic going down Claxton Dairy Road. Bad wrecks caused the city to make this a four-way stop, with a plan to convert it to a roundabout in the future. That time is now.

“Four-way stops are not near as efficient as roundabouts,” Bradshaw said. “I feel that they are just as safe. And a four-way stop can’t move traffic like a roundabout can because you don’t have to stop unless you need to. With a stop sign, you must stop whether there is somebody there or not. A roundabout will slow the traffic down.”

At the end of July, the plan is to reopen the intersection, even though workers will remain at the site for a little bit longer.

“There will still be some work going on, but it can take place with traffic,” Bradshaw said. “There will be some landscaping and things like that taking place.”

Drivers will be able to use the intersection through the Memorial Day holiday.  

“Everything will be accessible,” Bradshaw said. “They’ll just have to go around to go the way you are used to being able to go. Plus, this is a good time to do this because school will be out during this time and we won’t have all that school traffic, which changes dramatically when it is out. You can tell a huge difference. That is why having this completed by the end of July makes a lot of sense.”