MARSHALL, Mich. — The Michigan Department of Transportation is investing $675,000 to upgrade four rural intersections with warning systems.
Starting Friday, crews will be putting up the warning systems ahead of stop signs— they will flash yellow, telling drivers to slow down as they approach the intersection.
MDOT will put the warning systems at the following intersections:
- M-51 at Peavine Street, south of Dowagiac
- M-60 at M-66, south of Athens
- M-60 at 8 Mile Road, north of Union City
- M-60 at M-99, east of Homer
“We're seeing too many people who are not using those stop signs, and those are sideswipe or T-bone crashes on the adjoining street,” MDOT Spokesperson Nick Schirripa told FOX 17.
The added safety measures are intended to limit the "Michigan rolling stop," where drivers slow down rather than come to a complete stop.
Plus, the flashing yellow lights will alert drivers of potential traffic ahead.
“We can't drive for people, but we can certainly take certain measures and pull little levers that make roads a little safer for folks, that make driving on them a little safer,” Schirripa added.
MDOT is putting the warning systems in rural areas where traffic isn't always predictable, especially when most of the highways have a speed limit of 55 miles per hour.
“If you're driving through downtown Kalamazoo, you know that in the morning and in the evening traffic is going to be more more dense, there's going to be a higher volume,” he said. “That's a little harder to anticipate on rural roads and intersections like these, so this helps take some of that guessing out of it for folks.”
MDOT expects to complete work at all four intersections by the end of October.
In the meantime, drivers should expect some lane closures and traffic regulators near each project.
