'I think it's a good thing.' Norwich roundabout officially open for business

NORWICH - Rotaries. Traffic Circles. Roundabouts.

For many the terms are interchangeable, but there is a difference, according to a nearly 300-page U.S. Department of Transportation report on the matter.

“It’s a roundabout,” confirmed Armando Nunes, President of Nunes Companies, the Ludlow, Massachusetts-based firm contracted by the city to complete the now-open traffic feature in downtown Norwich.

By 3 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, fire trucks and school buses appeared to pass through the new roundabout without issue. A long black trailer pulled by a pickup truck, however, did not have the same experience, briefly jumping the curb.

Inside C&S Pawn Shop on the opposite side of the roundabout, owner Jeff Drake seemed encouraged to see the city investing in the improvement of the downtown area – something he hasn’t seen over his 16 years as a downtown business owner.

“I think it’s a good thing,” Drake told The Bulletin.

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Standing outside the pawnshop, Justin Smith didn’t seem so sure.

“There are some pros and cons to it,” he said as he anxiously waited for Bus #5 to take him home to Norwichtown.

Smith, a 10-year resident of Norwich said he used to own the now-closed Blunt Kings smoke shop adjacent to the new roundabout and remarked on the removal of many nearby parking spots.

“There is no place to park and run inside real quick; there is no place to park and go to the convenience store real quick; there is no place to park and get your Chinese food,” he said.

On the other hand, the easy flow of traffic streaming by stood out to him. He thought the construction crews “nailed it” in what he said was a “quick job – in and out.”

Nunes said Tuesday afternoon his crews have completed plenty of road projects before; but the newly minted roundabout at Franklin and Main streets in Norwich is a first.

While the nationwide truck driver shortage initially delayed the delivery of granite from a North Carolina quarry, Nunes called the roughly half-million-dollar project started in late July a success. He extolled the responsiveness of the city’s engineering department and Norwich Public Utilities over the course of what he called a “fun job.”

“This is probably the best [municipality] I have worked with over the last ten years,” Nunes said.

For example, when his crew came across a set of historic trolley tracks or other unexpected infrastructure discovered during their work, a quick phone call to the engineering department induced an immediate response; and when the Norwich Police Department asked for a traffic camera to be installed above a nearby convenience store, he made a call and Norwich Public Utilities arrived the same day to dig a conduit to make it happen.

What the long-term impact will be from the new traffic feature is unknown, as are any plans to adorn the inner pedestrian island with some type of ornamental feature.

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There are rumors it will be “a whale tail with a water fixture,” Smith told a reporter.

But if Smith were in charge?

“I would do a little fountain, throw some quarters and dimes in there and let the money go towards the homeless or something,” he said with a smile.