Portland’s Public Works Department will host a public meeting Tuesday evening to discuss plans to build a roundabout at the intersection of Brighton Avenue, Deering Avenue and Falmouth Street.

A public notice sent last week to abutters by Jeremiah J. Bartlett, the city’s transportation systems engineer, explains that the purpose of the meeting is to inform the public about the project’s design and construction schedule.

Members of the public also will be given the opportunity to comment on the project’s design and the impact it could have on the neighborhood. Tuesday’s meeting in the King Middle School cafeteria is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

Officials from Portland-based Ransom Consulting, which has been retained by the city to design the project, will be on hand to answer questions.

The roundabout would replace the six-way intersection on the edge of the University of Southern Maine’s Portland campus and next to the University of Maine School of Law.

Construction on the $3 million project would start in 2019 and be funded primarily with federal highway money. The city of Portland will contribute just over $717,000.

While there are now more than 20 roundabouts in the state, none has been built in Portland. Roundabouts are circular, one-way streets that move traffic through intersections while eliminating the need for traffic lights. Traffic moves more slowly through a roundabout than through a rotary.

Anyone with questions about the project is encouraged to contact Bartlett at jbartlett@portlandmaine.gov.

Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:

dhoey@pressherald.com

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