After a summer’s worth of construction, traffic on US-41 and M-28 in Marquette will begin to settle into its new normal today. Both lanes of the new roundabouts at Brickyard Road and County Road 492 will be open for the first time.
At the Michigan Department of Transportation Ishpeming Service Center, manager Rob Tervo says the roundabouts should make driving safer by eliminating left-hand turns across traffic, and essentially eliminating head-on crashes.
Studies show that roundabouts also enable traffic to move more quickly, even though many drivers express frustration with them.
The project also included a tunnel under the highway just west of County Road 492 for use by pedestrians and cyclists.
The roundabout project isn’t done. Landscaping and other finish work will be completed next spring. Orange barrels will remain in place through the winter to mark where the median is.