By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
Brandon Twp.- Construction for the roundabout at Oakhill and Sashabaw roads will begin on Aug. 31, and the intersection will close on Sept. 1. The project will replace the current four-way-stop intersection with a compact roundabout, and is funded partially by a federal safety grant.
“It was not a highly dangerous intersection, but there were accidents there,” said Craig Bryson, senior manager of communications with the Road Commission for Oakland County. “Typically there have to be some to qualify for a safety grant. And those grants generally go more for roundabouts than other types of intersections because of the proven reduction of traffic crashes.”
The project is expected to cost $1.23 million, and the project is being done with safety in mind.
“Safety is the number one goal,” said Bryson. “Anytime we do an intersection project, we consider the various options. It was determined a roundabout would be the most efficient, the most safely. Roundabouts are documented to reduce traffic fatalities by 90 percent and serious injury crashes by 75 percent. From a traffic flow perspective, can improve traffic flow significantly.”
The compact roundabout doesn’t have a large island in the center. Instead it has a small, raised area since the intersection does not have a huge traffic volume.
“It does not require that we purchase a right of way, which keeps the cost down,” he said. “It can provide safety without the cost.”
The detour for the intersection on Sashabaw is Seymour Lake Road to Baldwin Road to Clarkston Road and back to Sashabaw, and vice versa. The detour for Oakhill Road is Perry Lake Road to Seymour Lake Road to Dartmouth Road and back to Oakhill Road, and vice versa.
The project is expected to be completed in mid-November.