DAVENPORT, Iowa — On one of Davenport’s busiest corridors, Kimberly Road, traffic moves fast, and the consequences have often been deadly. That history includes a 2019 police chase that killed an innocent bystander at the intersection of Kimberly Road and Fairmount Street.

Crash data shows the danger is persistent. From 2018 to 2022, the city reported 37 injuries at the Kimberly and Fairmount intersection alone, including two fatalities. Citywide during that same period, more than 50 people died in traffic crashes.

Traffic engineers say the design of traditional intersections plays a major role in the severity of crashes.

“With a standard intersection, you’ve got more conflict points, as well as steep angle crashes, right angle crashes, which between speed and that tend to cause more injuries and fatalities,” City Engineer Brian Schadt said. 

Now, Davenport is moving forward with changes. A new $6 million federal grant will fund safety improvements at three high-crash intersections, including Kimberly and Fairmount. Two of those locations (65th & Brady Street, Fairmount & Kimberly) will now feature roundabouts.

City officials say roundabouts significantly improve safety. The Quad Cities already has 12 roundabouts in its area.

“When you look at a roundabout, those speeds are reduced and the crash angles are acute then. So there may be crashes yet, but you don’t see those injuries,” Schadt said.

Beyond safety, the city says roundabouts can also reduce long-term operating costs compared to traditional traffic signals.

“Signals, while they are cheaper up front, you do have that long term [operations and management] and those other issues. Plus, if you lose electricity, battery backups don’t work very long,” Schadt said.

The city remains in the design phase of the project, with officials expected to release a full construction timeline in the near future.