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RCOC says it's on schedule for new M-5 roundabout

With each passing day, the M-5/Pontiac Trail/Martin Parkway roundabout in Commerce Township inches closer to becoming the largest modern roundabout in Oakland County.

Crews have already paved two-thirds of the circular roadway. This week, they plan to pour the concrete on the southeast quadrant where a temporary road was built.

“At that time we will be shifting traffic onto the actual roundabout to pave the temporary road,” said Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) spokesperson Craig Bryson.

The temporary road will become a slip lane that functions in the same capacity as the makeshift road in place.

“This allows motorists traveling northbound and turning right to cut the corner short and not go through the roundabout, just like the temporary road does now,” Bryson said.

Though the majority of roundabout paving is completed, ancillary work must still be finished.

“We still have the curbs, storm water sewers and connecting all the legs of the roundabout left to do,” Bryson said.

However, Bryson added that they are still on schedule. Work is expected to be completed around Nov. 1.

The $5 million project was conceived to help mitigate traffic congestion at the intersection of M-5, Pontiac Trail, and Martin Parkway. Once finished, most of the roundabout will be two lanes, with three lanes at the north end.

Pontiac Trail east of M-5 will remain open, and traffic will be permitted to travel from northbound M-5 to eastbound Pontiac Trail and from westbound Pontiac Trail to southbound M-5, but traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction.

A closure is in place along Pontiac Trail between M-5 and Welch Road.

The detour route is Welch Road to Maple Road to Haggerty Road and back to Pontiac Trail, and vice versa.

11 Responses to RCOC says it's on schedule for new M-5 roundabout

  1. What a Waste

    September 22, 2011 at 4:13 pm

    The RCOC spends $5 Million to tear out a brand new intersection with double left turn lanes – what a waste of tax dollars. All so the RCOC can add another roundabout to their list of “accomplishments”.

    And they wonder why their pleas for more funds go unanswered.

    It’s not that michigan taxpayers are too dumb to realize their roads are underfunded – we are just too smart to hand more money to guys who refuse to budget responsibly.

  2. Seriously?

    September 22, 2011 at 6:51 pm

    In response to “What a waste”, it is a federally funded project using economic development dollars and will dramatically improve traffic flow in this area. Roundabouts are not scary–only change is scary for some.

  3. Mike Clement

    September 23, 2011 at 8:17 am

    Well, “what a waste” does have a point. The intersection that is being replaced with a roundabout wasn’t that old. As a driver that must traverse through the area on my daily commute, I have serious doubts that the roundabout will significantly improve the traffic flow in the area. I seriously hope it will, but the problem remains that the north bound traffic from M5 dumps on to Pontiac Trial and continues to flow northward on Haggerty & Welch roads. The new road running through the old Eldorado/Links of Pinewood will help, but it will just push the problem northward to Oakly Park/Richardson. The real problem is Union Lake Road. Union lake road bottlenecks North of Wise Road and backs traffic up all the way south back to Richardson.

  4. Seriously

    September 23, 2011 at 10:18 am

    No one said that roundabouts were “scary”. Only that tearing up a newly-constructed intersection with double turn lanes was a waste.

    The new road through the golf course could have been connected to the existing nearly-new intersection for far less money.

    The traffic bottlenecks, as Clement pointed out, are due to a big highway dumping into 2-lane roads. Roundabouts aren’t magic – they won’t fix that problem. Roundabouts are expensive, and should be used judiciously, and not willy-nilly as the RCOC prefers.

    There are hundreds of miles of crumbling roads and intersections under the RCOC’s care that could have benefited from those federal dollars.

    So yes, seriously, what a waste.

  5. lives on Pontiac Trail

    September 25, 2011 at 2:54 pm

    The old intersection worked very well, the traffic flow was smooth for the amount of vehicles. The real issue is that north bound traffic on M-5 is traveling at 60+mph (we all know that it’s more like 70+) and the combines with Pontiac Trail and the cross traffic there does 55+ mph also! Sounds like a NASCAR viewing situation to me. I will be using Maple for now on. Most people in Michigan don’t know how to drive to begin with much less a roundabout.

  6. Let the fun begin

    September 26, 2011 at 1:37 pm

    Why couldn’t they have simply put a road straight thru the intersection and put up a traffic light? And just imagine when it snows…….they can’t keep M5 all that clean of the snow now….let alone a round-about. I travel these roads daily…..think I’ll just jump off M5…and go towards Haggerty……cuz, its going to be a HUGE mess.

    • Yahoo

      September 28, 2011 at 7:44 am

      ‘let the fun begin’…I hope you so stay off M5 and you won’t be in my way…A win-win for everyone.And ‘lives on Pontiac trail’…I doubt you do live there, unless your definition of ” traffic flow was smooth” means you smoothly moved at 5 mph in the daily traffic jams in both the east and west directions.

  7. Mike

    September 28, 2011 at 8:30 am

    Yahoo, so you really think the roundabout is going to help? Did you happen to drive through the area last night? It doesn’t matter which direction you travel, the roads leading to/from the M5 aren’t sufficient to move the massive amount of traffic traversing the area. No amount of intersection improvement is going to change this fact.

  8. Yahoo

    September 29, 2011 at 11:38 am

    Hi Mike,
    Remember the intersection at Drake and Maple?
    Remember the intersection at Maple and Farmington?
    Remember how people said the roads couldn’t handle additional traffic?
    Remember people saying roundabouts won’t work?
    And how about the roundabout at VanDyke and 18 and half mile?

    I’m busy right now, but lets talk again around April/May when things settle down.

  9. Old post new comment

    November 1, 2011 at 7:33 pm

    Yahoo,

    Drake and Maple isn’t M5
    Maple and Farmington? Still not M5
    VanDyke and 18 1/2 mile? ummm, not M5.

    You have a highway that turns into 55mph with traffic lights (70mph for most drivers) end at a roundabout and how much $$$ was spent? How many other roads could have used that money? Put up a traffic light, connect Martin, done.

    Eh, I I guess Haggerty doesn’t need fixing anytime soon… I kind of enjoy the bumpy road.

    P.S. I always wanted to keep going in a cirle like they did in National Lampoons!

  10. abby

    January 18, 2012 at 3:19 am

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