Shoreline 145th roundabouts - welcome to the future

Photo by David Carlos

By Diane Hettrick

This photo of the 145th roundabouts was taken April 19, 2026.

There's so much going on in this shot. Two roundabouts replacing traffic signals and turn lanes. New landscaping. New apartment buildings east of I-5. It doesn't show it but there are multiple blocks of six story apartment buildings beyond what you can see in the photo.

The completed, raised track for the light rail shows a train headed north. Aren't we lucky to have been in the first phase of the light rail project?

In early June, crews will apply permanent striping and open both roundabouts in the final two-lane configuration.

There's a lot of angst being expressed about roundabouts. I think that we need to finish them and then get used to driving on them. This mid-construction phase is challenging. I drove the 145th route not too long after it opened - and it was nerve-wracking. 

We were stacked up in a line approaching the bridge from the east - just as the cars are in the photo. When we got to the head of the line there were oncoming cars from two directions. Those already on 145th were moving at a pretty good clip. Those from the southbound freeway exit were stacked up just like we were and merging when they could, taking the best open spaces.

The problem was that there was no way to tell whether the oncoming traffic was going straight onto 145th (and thus leaving us a clear path) or planning to go around the circle and collide with us if we pulled out.

A second, marked lane should resolve that issue.

10-12 unmarked lanes circle the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Photo courtesy Britannica

Europeans have had large multi-lane roundabouts for decades. The one around the Arc de Triomphe in Paris has 10 to 12 lanes - unmarked, with 12 entrances / exits. There are jokes about people who get on the roundabout and can never get off.

The big difference in Paris is that vehicles entering the roundabout have priority over vehicles already in the circle.

Hopefully we can learn to handle a couple of circles.