More roundabouts coming to US-41

MARQUETTE TOWNSHIP — Marquette Township will look a lot different come 2019.

MDOT officials are planning to replace two intersections with roundabouts: US-41 and Brickyard Road plus US-41 and County Road HQ. And the existing roadway in that area will be replaced with a grass median and Michigan left turn lanes like the township already has.

MDOT communications representative Dan Weingarten says the overall goal of the project is about one thing: safety.

“You have all of the cars going in the same direction when you’re going through a roundabout and they’re going at a slower rate of speed, so the crashes that we get at intersections are typically fender benders, side swipe type crashes,” said Weingarten. “This is one of the busiest stretches of highway in the Upper Peninsula. This is a high profile project just because of that.”

The project is expected to cost approximately $6.5 million. Weingarten says MDOT has reached out to Marquette Township officials, who have pledged to back the changes going forward.