The Division Road entrance to New England Tech is closed during roundabout construction.

The long-anticipated construction of a roundabout at the entrance of New England Tech on Division Road has finally begun and that entrance is closed until mid-September. Drivers need to use the South County Trail entrance to the campus, next to CVS.

The roundabout – meant to help traffic flow in the area – was part of an agreement in 2010 between the town and New England Tech, in which the town allowed the nonprofit university to move to its campus to the site in exchange for payments in lieu of taxes. R.I. Dept. of Transportation was also involved in the agreement and committed to the project at that time.

The work is being done by D’Ambra Construction, which has a $1.6 million contract for the project. In addition to the roundabout, drainage and electrical conduit work will be done.

“There will be limited impacts to traffic throughout the life of this project,” said DOT spokeswoman Rose Amoros via email, “mostly periodic lane closures and lane shifts.”

She said studies have shown roundabouts experience 40 percent fewer crashes than traditional intersections, and 80 percent fewer accidents involving an injury. You can find more information about roundabouts here.