On July 30, we attended the MDOT meeting concerning the proposed Bell Crossing roundabout. My husband, Eric, is a retired line superintendent for Ravalli County Electric and has great safety concerns about putting a roundabout at the very intersection the REA uses every day, hauling and driving very large equipment.
Line trucks pull backhoes or 30 foot plus power poles through that intersection. If going north, the truck and trailer will need to travel 3/4 of the way around the roundabout to do so. This will create an extremely large turning radius, causing a major safety concern in the daylight, but what about at night, when they may be called out to replace a pole broken in a car wreck?
With traffic traveling at 70 mph, and semi trucks regular users, as well as motor homes, and large RVs, or people like us, pulling our boat behind our RV, this creates quite a dilemma for both slowing down, and also sharing common space with long loads and cars.
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If you agree with us in thinking this is a bad idea, and that traffic lights would be a better alternative, you had better PLAN to attend one or both of the next two meetings: Aug. 14, from noon to 6 p.m., or Aug. 29, from 2 to 8 p.m. Both are at Stevensville High School Library. The parking lot for these meetings is east on Third Street, by the Agriculture building.
There were 13 badge wearing officials at the meeting. Their objective and plan is for a roundabout, and they are prepared to persuade you that this is a good idea. It is going to take a massive amount of opposition to this to make any effect on their decision. It is being jammed down our throats and is going to happen as it stands right now.
We all know this is an unsafe intersection. It could be made safer in a hurry, with little disruption to traffic flow, if they just installed lighting like was done at Woodside and Blue Mountain. This roundabout project will not be completed for two years, thus extending the current unsafe conditions.
Their reasoning for no lights is that the roundabout will create pie shaped accidents, vs. lights having more severe T-bone types. But when you have a collision with a utility power pole, you will get the whole PIE! Please speak up!
