MDT To Hold Open House Aimed At Teaching Public How To Drive New Roundabout

The Montana Department of Transportation will hold an educational open house focused on teaching drivers to safely navigate the new roundabout under construction south of Sidney.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 18 from 4-7 p.m. at the MonDak Heritage Center located at 120 3rd Ave, SE, Sidney MT 59270.

Once complete, the Sidney Roundabout, located at the junction of MT-16, MT-200, and MT-23, will be the first multi-lane roundabout in the area.

Shane Mintz, Glendive District administrator says the Department’s priority is making sure that members of the public feel comfortable driving the new roundabout.

“Most people are familiar with single-lane roundabouts, but the first time a driver encounters a roundabout with multiple lanes can be a little intimidating,” he said. “We want to make sure that everyone feels confident and knows how to drive the roundabout before that first time.”

“The number one thing to remember is to wait for a gap in both lanes of traffic before entering the roundabout, Mintz added. “Once in the roundabout, it’s important for drivers to avoid switching lanes or stopping unnecessarily.”

MDT staff will be on hand at the meeting to answer questions about the roundabout project and to explain how vehicles of all sizes can navigate the roundabout safely.

The Sidney Roundabout was designed as a large, multi-lane roundabout in order to provide a significant reduction in fatal and serious injury crashes, while accommodating large volumes of industrial and agricultural related traffic. The roundabout opened to single-lane traffic in June and is expected to fully open to multi-lane traffic at the end of July.

For more information, please contact Chris Puyear at 406-431-2499, [email protected], or visit https://www.mdt.mt.gov/pubinvolve/sidneyroundabout/.