BOZEMAN — A brand-new roundabout in the works at a busy intersection in Bozeman seems to be falling apart.
Before it re-opened in November and construction stopped at the Durston-Ferguson roundabout, city officials say the project had come a long way from the dangerous intersection it used to be.
But while traffic is flowing once again, those who use it a lot say they are noticing some problems.
“We anticipated that we were going to have some issues throughout the winter," says Bob Murray, Bozeman project engineer.
The sight of orange cones still lingers just off to the side of the Durston-Ferguson roundabout.
It’s open but Murray says it’s not done.
“Some of the gravel was wet when the asphalt was being paved but it was down to the point in the year where we either needed to pave it or we weren’t going to get it done," Murray says.
The first thing some people living nearby say they notice?
People not heeding roundabout rules.
On top of that -- potholes.
And they aren’t small.
“There’s also a second layer of asphalt that still needs to go on on top of what’s there now," Murray says.
Many viewers reached out to us with mixed opinions.
On Facebook, one driver claims “the pothole there was as big as a small car” and he “guarantees people had damages to their vehicles.”
Another calls the roundabout an “absolute disaster.”
But there are many others who say they get it -- the project is not complete -- with one saying he “prefers driving five miles per hour for 30 feet than detouring half a mile each trip.”
Murray says the complaints have been heard and the roundabout will be fixed next week.
“We notified the contractor about a week ago that he was going to need to get out there and deal with some of the potholes that have shown up," Murray says.
But until construction can start again, he adds they expect more problems.
“It’s not complete," Murray says. "There’s traffic control up and everything out there is incomplete right now. We might have some more issues as the winter goes on.”
Murray says there will be more signs installed in all directions before the roundabout is completely finished and permanent street lamps will replace the temporary ones.
