A Fife Lake intersection that has been the site of multiple car accidents in recent years is set to be reconstructed as a roundabout in 2019.
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will host a public input meeting Wednesday at 5pm at Fife Lake’s American Legion Post 219 to discuss plans to install the roundabout at the intersection of US-131 and M-186 (pictured). MDOT officials had previously announced plans in 2016 to install a new traffic signal at the intersection to address a pattern of crashes. That project, estimated at $1.6 million, was planned to take place in fall 2018.
But according to Rick Liptak, Traverse City Transportation Service Center manager for MDOT, an internal road safety audit this winter – which involved other MDOT departments analyzing the intersection – determined that a roundabout would provide superior safety upgrades to the intersection and prove just as cost-effective as a traffic signal in the long run.
“Their recommendation was that a roundabout would be better than a traffic signal,” Liptak says. “We worked to try to find additional funding (for the roundabout), and we were able to successfully do that.” The $2.3 million project is planned to take place in spring 2019.
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