Dear Action Line: After you exit the new Maverik gas station in Three Springs on the truck (southwest) side, you encounter two branching arrows on the pavement before the roundabout. One arrow points straight while the other points left. The left arrow seemingly invites the driver to enter the roundabout going clockwise. Since traffic is supposed to move counterclockwise, this is an invitation to disaster. Did the traffic planners assume drivers would be smart enough to know not to turn left immediately? I have seen many confused drivers on that roundabout. Any plans to modify the arrows? – Perplexed

Dear Perplexed: This is not the first inquiry Action Line has had about what some refer to as the Wilson Gulch roundabout. Others worry about the upcoming potential peril of thousands of vehicles per day going through here when construction on the new U.S. Highway 550/160 intersection is completed next summer or fall. One sample:

“So … CDOT builds one of the most confusing roundabouts and puts it at the end of a major highway that has, how many thousands of cars and trucks on it daily? … And then places a huge truck stop entrance on it. Wow sounds like a crazy bottleneck situation.”

This roundabout won’t get as much action as you might think. More about that later. Despite public skepticism, the Colorado Department of Transportation remains confident that we drivers can puzzle things out.

Let’s start with the arrow.

Technically, according to CDOT standards, the arrow does not need fixing, said Lisa Schwantes, CDOT spokeswoman. It is “compliant with our (Federal Highway Administration) guide, Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices. It’s a big book that tells us what kind of signs and pavement markings we can and can’t use.”

Schwantes said that the local CDOT traffic and safety team is considering adding a dot, which is an “acceptable option” in the big manual. That team informed Schwantes that the number of signs in the photo (one-way, chevrons, yield, roundabout warning) are in excess of typical roundabouts, and “should certainly guide drivers through the roundabout.” The protruding curb is another hint that you shouldn’t turn left.

Now, on to the bigger question. When in full operation next year, will this roundabout become a clogged quagmire with vehicles going every which way and playing bumper cars?

Change is sometimes difficult. Roundabouts are a relatively new phenomenon in the U.S. of A. One estimate is there are now 8,800 in the entire country. For comparison, the United Kingdom has about 25,000 with about a fifth of the population. Europeans and Australians enjoy making fun of Americans’ lack of roundabout aplomb. Google it.

What Action Line is trying to say is: get used to them.

If you need to overcome your roundabout fear, just drive up and back a few times on Jenkins Ranch Road, where there are five. In Southwest Colorado there are 11, with two in Bayfield. All 50 states – yes, even South Dakota – have at least several roundabouts. If you really want to geek out on roundabouts, this website has a map showing where they are – all over the world: roundabouts.kittelson.com/Home/Map. Even Greenland has two. Go live in Cameroon or Tajikistan if you desire a roundabout-less existence.

Roundabouts are fairly easy if you remember two things: Traffic moves counterclockwise, and always yield to traffic from the left. That’s it. Merge, circle around, leave at your exit. If you miss your exit, just circle around and try again. Approach the roundabout slowly, and merge carefully, but once you’ve entered don’t stop!

If a learning video helps, try this: youtube.com/watch?v=Nic1oPwv2k8.

A couple of pertinent things about the configuration of the new Highway 550/160 intersection: Northbound 550 traffic merging onto 160 won’t even go through the Wilson Gulch roundabout. It will go through a yet-to-be-constructed roundabout (does Action Line hear some groaning?) on the south side of Highway 160. After that, the Bayfield-bound traffic will veer off before crossing the bridge, and the Durango-bound vehicles will cross the bridge and veer off in a cloverleaf turn before the Wilson Gulch roundabout. The only Highway 550 traffic that will use that roundabout is vehicles heading onto Wilson Gulch Drive (or using the gas station).

The south-side roundabout will be busier, so you should probably be more concerned about that, but there won’t be a gas station to muck things up.

Is this all perfectly clear?

CDOT does not yet have a graphic available of the new intersection configuration. No doubt, it’ll be busy during rush hours. Without going into too much detail, somewhere around 8,000 vehicles use Highway 550 per day at the Colorado-New Mexico state line, and about the same amount has been observed in surveys just west of Bayfield.

Officially, of course, CDOT says that yes, the roundabouts will function with the expected volumes of traffic.

“Future traffic was analyzed using predicted traffic volumes for the year 2035,” Schwantes said. “The report determined the roundabout would operate safely and acceptably.”

And there you have it.

Email questions and suggestions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. Not to confuse everyone, but if you’re in, say, Great Britain or Australia, then go LEFT at the roundabout and watch for vehicles from the RIGHT. On second thought, maybe it’s better if you forget you read that.