Protestors rally against roundabout

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Turmoil continues to circle a roundabout proposed for a busy Albuquerque intersection.

On Tuesday about 40 protesters gathered to voice their concerns about a proposed roundabout to replace the signaled intersection of Rio Grande Boulevard NW and Candelaria Road.

The plan is to spend more than $1 million on the project to slow down speeders. But some neighbors don't feel the roundabout is necessary:

"A million and a half dollars to create a problem that doesn't exist>" said Neil Colella, who lives near the intersection. "There's a tree over there. If I had a chainsaw and a bunch of guys to haul this stuff away, I could fix everything that's wrong with this intersection in about two hours."

The Rio Grande Boulevard Neighborhood Association has already secured the money from the federal government. If it's not used on the roundabout, the money will go back to the feds.

The city did a study which found that accidents happen three times more often at Rio Grande and Candelaria than other similar intersections around Albuquerque.