Ask Mr. Answer Person: "Will a roundabout be built at the Highway 9 & 52 intersection?"

(Corey e-mails: "With the construction project on US 52 winding down and carrying over into next year, it got me to wondering--has there been consideration of changing the 4-way stop at the Highway 9 & 52 intersection into a roundabout?

Having traveled around the region over the past several years, roundabouts have become increasingly popular. Prairie du Chien (WI) and Blue Earth (MN) are just a few locations that have eliminated some controlled intersections and employed roundabouts.

Mythbusters tackled the efficiency question of a roundabout v 4-way stop in 2014.  The roundabout was 20 percent more efficient, according to their test: http://www.wimp.com/testroundabout/)

Mr. Answer Person says: "The short answer is 'no.'  The Iowa Department of Transportation plans to redo the intersection in 2017, with $1.4 million set aside for the project.

But Mason City regional IDOT office spokesperson Pete Hjelmstad's answer to your question gets right to the point: "We will not be building a roundabout at the intersection of IA 9 and IA 52.  We are planning on reconstructing the intersection pretty much as is in 2017."