New Roundabout In Standish Provides Smoother Flow of Traffic

Roundabout created to improve the safety and geometrics of the M-13 and US-23 interchange

STANDISH – On a sunny day in August of 2022, the bright orange and white barricades were moved aside, and a brand-new roundabout traffic structure officially opened with its asphalt still bright black and pavement markings freshly yellow. Vehicles big and small began to hum through the lanes, traveling smoothly through an area that once held an aging bridge connecting US-23 to M-13.

The roundabout, the first of its kind in Arenac County, now connects US-23 and I-75 with M-13 just south of Sagatoo Road in Standish. As part of a larger Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) project, its construction was one of the beneficiaries of the Rebuilding Michigan Program, a funding initiative which allowed MDOT to sell a total of $3.5 billion in bonds to finance more than 120 new and modified road construction projects across the state.

Prior to the roundabout, motorists traveling south along M-13 used an on-ramp to access US-23 and I-75, and those traveling north on US-23 crossed M-13 via a bridge which had an additional on-ramp to M-13 at the Sagatoo Road intersection. Paul Schiefer, P.E., a Construction Engineer with MDOT’s Bay City Transportation Service Center, said the bridge and roadway were originally built in the 1960’s as part of a future US-23 bypass project that never happened.

“The existing bridge structure over M-13 was in need of repairs,” he said. “There were safety issues with the eastbound US-23 connector ramp to northbound US-23 acceleration lane being short due to the Sagatoo Road intersection, and truck rollovers on the ramp.”

Schiefer said the roundabout design was selected to improve the safety and geometrics of the interchange, along with reducing the long-term maintenance costs in the area.

In addition to the roundabout interchange’s construction, the project also included more than six miles of roadway resurfacing from just south of the roundabout at Bertha Street, north through Standish to Grove Street, and the rehabilitation of 19 structures throughout the area due to varying deteriorated components.

“The roadway surface was deteriorating and in need of a more in-depth fix. There were drainage structures in the roadway that had been damaged, and areas of ponding water were happening in the curb and gutters,” Schiefer said. “We rehabilitated 19 structures with varying deteriorated components. This work included bridge deck replacement, concrete deck patches, substructure repairs, beam repairs, bridge painting, and scour protection.”

The project was in the design stages for a little more than a year in 2020 and 2021 before construction began in early 2022. Spicer Group was hired by MDOT to provide construction administration and inspection services on this project.

Spicer’s team of trained technicians assisted MDOT with day-to-day inspections and material testing on the project. This work ensures everything is built to the specifications and standards laid out by MDOT and includes performing density testing utilizing a nuclear density gauge, asphalt paving inspection, concrete testing, bridge paint inspections, sub-base and aggregate base inspections, and more.

Schiefer said all Spicer staff on the project upheld the highest of standards that MDOT expects for their projects. During the height of construction season, even more Spicer team members were brought in to assist with overseeing paving operations when there was more activity going on than there was staff available, he said.

“On this job, our inspectors worked alongside MDOT’s team daily and were on-site anytime something was happening,” Spicer Group Construction Manager Nate Pfenninger, P.E., said.

When a personnel change took place within MDOT, Pfenninger also joined the team to provide construction management services on this large and complex project.

“On this construction site, with so many moving parts, I was working daily with all (of MDOT’s) different divisions to make sure that everyone on the team was aware of what was going on in that timeframe on the project,” he said. “This required communication between all involved entities— from the design engineers to the client and the contractor— even the public. That communication is key when challenges or last-minute changes arise throughout the project’s construction phase.”

One of those unexpected occurrences happened during the demolition phase of the project when crews uncovered a portion of buried highway beneath an area adjacent to M-13 where the roundabout was to be placed. Pfenninger said when crews were excavating the dirt down to sub-grade level to install the roundabout, they discovered an old concrete roadway that still had pavement markings on it. Crews took extra time to remove all the concrete roadway that had been buried when M-13 was built.

“It was challenging to make sure that not only was everything that was supposed to happen with the project happening, but that the necessary day-to-day changes that happened while the project was under construction were seamlessly integrated to finish the project and minimize their impact on the overall budget,” Pfenninger said.

Much of the construction was completed by the end of summer in 2022 with minimal work still being finished up
in 2023.

“The project has been delivered with great success and was received well by the public,” Schiefer said. “At MDOT, we strive to make all of our roadways safe for the motoring public and this project takes us another step closer to achieving that goal.”