KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM) — The Michigan Department of Transportation is allowing traffic on the new Sprinkle Road roundabouts in an effort to get people familiarized with the circular traffic interchanges before they formally open.
The traffic features are functioning, but not yet connected to Interastate 94. You can go ’round and ’round all you want.
While Kalamazoo has a few small roundabouts on the west side of the Western Michigan University campus and one in Texas Township, MDOT spokesperson Nick Schrippa said the closest comparable ones are in Mattawan, which have been functioning smoothly for years.
“We’ve had good success,” Schrippa said. “We’ve been able to relieve congestion, there’s been a reduction in crashes — certainly, in the number of dangerous crashes, and it’s been going really well.”
He says roundabouts are generally safer because everyone is going in the same general direction at slower speeds, unlike traditional intersections.
“A four-way intersection has 32 potential conflict points, but a roundabout has eight,” Schrippa said. “It eliminates head-on and T-bone crashes.”
The plan for now is to open the ramps to and from I-94 and finish the $15.5 million dollar project by Nov. 18, weather permitting.
– John McNeill
