I usually consider it a lost cause to complain about a completed project, but the roundabout on U.S. Highway 2 West is so terrible I need to speak up. When the highway department was proposing this roundabout, I wasn’t too concerned because I traveled on one on Highway 54 in Idaho between Athol and Farragut State Park. (A search on Google maps shows the gentle curves and how it is designed for Hwy traffic.) I was very impressed with that design. I did wonder why the information on the website for the Monana Department of Transportation didn’t show a diagram of what the Highway 2 roundabout would look like and instead showed a video of a semi driving between pylons at the fairgrounds. It seems like even then they knew it was a poor design.
The major flaw in the roundabout is that it is designed for an intersection where there is an equivalent amount of traffic coming from all directions at much slower speeds. Instead, this is on a major highway dissecting a side road. The speed limit on the highway for eastbound traffic is 60 mph which then drops to 45 mph and then goes into the roundabout with a recommended speed of 15 mph. Eastbound traffic also has to contend with dropping down a slight hill. The unnecessary curve right before entering the actual roundabout is a zinger and complicates getting around it. I travel this section of the highway only occasionally and still saw a vehicle stuck on the berm in the center of the roundabout during winter weather. How many others have people navigating this daily seen? My experience doesn’t even come close to what semis and other trailered vehicles must experience. The difficulty the extremely oversized transports (huge heavy equipment and yacht sized boats that require escorts and permits just to travel on the highway) apparently wasn’t taken into consideration when designing the roundabout. Although the stated purpose of the addition of the roundabout is to reduce accidents there is statistical proof on the bypass in Flathead County that roundabouts cause fatalities especially when combined with speed and/or alcohol. Adding this to a roundabout that is so poorly designed is a recipe for disaster.
What to do now? First the Highway Department needs to never put such a flawed design on any other major highway. For the current roundabout there needs to be adjustments made to the sharp turns going into the roundabout for highway traffic, starting with the eastbound lane. Studies need to be done on how to prevent the bottleneck to highway traffic. In a heartfelt plea to the Montana Department of Transportation, please admit your mistake and make adjustments to correct it. Look at designs in other states. Consult with experts. Use computer stimulation to identify problems before making changes to the highways. We should expect no less as drivers who have to drive this road and taxpayers who are funding it.
Andrea Davidson
Kalispell