Your idea for the roundabout ignores the fact that Opal Avenue (where USA Parkway connects to US 50) is a 4-legged intersection, so can't have the eastbound bypass lanes you proposed. If that limitation wasn't present, I think your idea would be great.
I see. I threw out that idea without looking at the map. However, I looked up the satellite view of the area, and unless I'm missing something*, the Opal intersection doesn't look like that big an obstacle to overcome. There's a and lotta nothing out there, so just make Opal dead-end at the NE corner of the airport property. That would free up the necessary space to allow the eastbound through lanes.
I didn't realize the USA Parkway connection (utilizing Opal Avenue) was so close to the Silver Springs Airport runway... Another reason they should have aligned the connection with the Ramsey-Weeks Cutoff–that would have been far enough from the airport that a diamond interchange could have been constructed.
You're right that the alignment would line up so much better with the cutoff. Good ol' NDOT. I hope there was a good reason. That said, unless I'm missing something* again, what if we shifted the southern terminus slightly west to the vast expanse of nothing between Onyx and Opal and made it a trumpet interchange? You could then keep Opal as-is but reconfigure Bowers Ave to intersect Opal instead of US-50. Twain south of 50 would be dead-ended. You could even depress 50's grade a little to minimize vertical clearance issues with the airport.
My only sticking point is Bowers' intersection with the Parkway. There's a host of options:
- 4-way intersection at the current location
- 4-way intersection shifted northward a little
- An over- or underpass
- Blocking the road on each side of the Parkway
- RIRO on each side of the Parkway
- An interchange
- A roundabout (ha!)
- A compact complicated Spaghetti Bowl-style interchange that is combined with the US-50 interchange because f*ck you
Last one aside, I'd probably go with dead-ending Bowers on both sides, removing its intersection with 50, and extending it east to meet Opal instead. If demand warrants otherwise, I'd recommend RIRO but still have Bowers meet Opal.
*other than things like ROW acquisition and redesign costs