DUBLIN — Construction of a roundabout will begin Monday in Bladen County, requiring a highway junction to close until next summer.

Workers for BMCO Construction of Lumberton will build the roundabout where N.C. 41 and N.C. 410 intersect south of Dublin, according to a press release by N.C. Department of Transportation. For the safety of workers and the traveling public, as well as to speed up the project, the intersection will close until the roundabout is completed by next June.

Those traveling on N.C. 410 will be detoured onto Pleasant Grove Church Road, then onto Center Road to reach either N.C. 41 or continue on to N.C. 410. Northbound drivers on N.C. 41 will turn right onto N.C. 131, then left onto Center Road to reach their destination. Southbound motorists will turn left onto Center Road to reach N.C. 410, or stay on Center Road, then turn right onto N.C. 131 to continue on to N.C. 41. Detour signs will mark the route.

“The N.C. Department of Transportation made the intersection into an all-way stop a few years ago, after a traffic analysis showed a high number of drivers on N.C. 410 were pulling into the path of those on N.C. 41, which did not have to stop,” said Andrew Barksdale, N.C. Department of Transportation public relations officer.

“According to that analysis, almost 60% of the 31 crashes in the five-year review period involved angled collisions, sometimes referred to as T-bone crashes.

“Although the all-way stop has reduced crashes, the department is building a roundabout to further improve the location’s safety, traffic flow and plan for future traffic growth,” he said.

The department awarded the nearly $1.76 million contract in April.