What goes around, comes around

Sept. 22, 2025

By Ryan LaFontaine

AUSTIN — As Texas continues pushing forward with safer, more innovative intersections, the state has plenty of reasons to celebrate National Roundabouts Week.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has reported dramatic growth in the adoption of roundabouts and other non-traditional intersection designs in recent years.

The agency has seen a significant increase in implementation of “innovative intersections.” At the same time, more than 90 roundabout locations are now in stages of planning or early design, and 27 roundabouts are already in detailed design in nine TxDOT districts across the state.

Embracing innovation to improve safety

Intersections remain a critical focus for traffic safety in Texas: nearly one-third of the state’s fatal and serious injury crashes occur at intersections.

TxDOT engineer Amanda Austin spearheads the roundabout effort. She’s part of an agency wide effort to build more roundabouts because not only are they more resilient during severe weather situations, but they can also be much safer compared to a typical traffic light intersection.

Roundabouts can reduce fatal intersection crashes by up to 90% compared to a typical traffic light by eliminating head-on and right-angle collisions.

Other non-traditional designs also are part of the mix. For example, adding U-turns can cut fatal and injury crashes by up to 63% by restricting left turns from side streets.

“If we want to get to zero deaths on our roadways, we have to look at all kinds of different innovative approaches to reach that goal and roundabouts are certainly one way to do that,” Austin said.

National Roundabouts Week

National Roundabouts Week, Sept. 22-26, is an initiative of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to highlight the safety benefits of roundabouts.

Texas already has an estimated 661 roundabouts in place, along with roughly 860 innovative intersections in total, and more are coming.

During National Roundabouts Week, TxDOT hopes to raise awareness about how roundabouts work, how to drive them safely (including signage, yield rules, etc.), and why they can be better for safety, resiliency, traffic flow and long-term maintenance.

The road ahead

While the number of roundabouts in Texas continues to grow, designing and building them remains complex.

“There is a lot more to installing a roundabout than the simple circle would suggest,” Austin said. “You need it just big enough to accommodate trucks but not so big that people can drive too fast through it.”

TxDOT also emphasizes education—both for engineers and the public. Trainings on roundabout design, best practices and public outreach are part of ongoing efforts to ensure these innovations deliver on safety while minimizing unintended consequences.

As National Roundabouts Week kicks off, Texas is not just talking about safety innovations—it’s acting. With strong growth in roundabout development, new planning tools and increasing public engagement, the state is betting that these circular intersections will play a key role in reducing crashes and saving lives.