(WXYZ) — Getting around metro Detroit might be sending you in circles, well, at least in Oakland County because five new roundabouts are being built.
Oakland County has the highest concentration of roundabouts and a new roundabout is being built at Greenfield and Normandy in Beverly Hills.
Azam Durran, the owner of the 711 in the area says the construction is slowing down business big time. Nonetheless, he understands the need for a roundabout.
"It's always congested. It's so hard...to get to the parking lot and get out of the parking lot so I don't know, I hope it helps," Durran said.
But those in charge of the roads in Oakland Country are still expecting calls.
"Every time we build one we hear that they are going to be terrible. They are not going to work, and then every single time, once we are done, all those comments go away," Craig Bryson with the Road Commission of Oakland County said.
Bryon says there are two reasons why they opt for roundabouts. The first reason is safety.
"They have been shown to reduce traffic fatalities at intersections by about 90% compared to signalize intersections," he said.
That's because, at signalized intersections, there is the potential for head-on and t-bone crashes.
The second reason for roundabouts is it relieves congestion.
"We can reduce congestion by 30 to 50 percent just by replacing a signalized intersection with a roundabout," Bryson said. "That is the equivalent of widening the road between the intersection without actually doing the widening."
All five roundabouts are being built this year in Oakland County:
- Orion Road and Stoney Creek
- Elizabeth Lake at Oxbow and at Teggerdine
- Dequindre at 23 Mile
- Greenfield and Normandy.
By the end of the year, there will be 41 roundabouts in Oakland County.
