FISHERS, Ind. — UPDATE: A spokesperson with the City of Fishers said construction won't begin until late spring of 2023.
One of the city's busiest intersections will look a lot different later this year. The "Michigan Left" was unveiled more than a decade ago at 96th Street and Allisonville Road on the north side.
The functionality of the unusual intersection agitated drivers in the years that followed.
Now, changes are on the horizon again.
Drivers traveling north on Allisonville Road who take a left on 96th Street have to make a U-turn. 13News did not have to travel far to find some passionate opinions.
"I generally hate it," said Cristian Bonilla, an employee at Big Red Liquors. "It's so dumb."
Another driver agreed.
"I've never liked doing U-turns. It just doesn't feel comfortable. It doesn't feel natural when you're driving in my opinion," said Michael Rice of the Vape Shop. "If you're going straight, it's fine. If you're not going straight, yeah. Get your time wasted," Rice said.
Employees at nearby businesses and their customers know the intersection well.
"You do have the occasional person who stops in the middle of the intersection with their left turn signal and gets horns honked at or they finally realize, 'OK, I gotta go forward to go left,'" said James McGrath at Big Red Liquors.
The city of Fishers installed the Michigan Left more a decade ago to ease traffic. However, Mayor Scott Fadness admitted, it hasn't eased headaches.
"In my time, I have not heard a lot of great feedback about the Michigan Left," Mayor Fadness said.
Starting as early as this summer, it's goodbye Michigan Left and hello roundabout. The city council unanimously approved the proposal because of a new development coming to the northwest corner of the intersection. The plan is to build townhomes and multi-family units, retail shops and 25 acres of park land.
The city expects the roundabout to be more accessible and sustainable for these residents and businesses.
"Ultimately, I think people are more comfortable with roundabouts and will be proud of what gets done," Fadness said.
Construction on the roundabout will likely wrap up within the year or early 2023.
"In road construction time frame, that's pretty quick, but we're working hard to hit that date," Fadness said.
For those employees, it can't come soon enough.
"I'm excited. Hopefully, it'll make traffic go faster and make it easier for me to go to work," Rice said.