Monad Road at South 36th Street West is closed for the construction of a roundabout.
A roundabout is a welcome safety measure at that intersection after a Billings woman was killed in a crash in June.
Watch Monad and 36th roundabout construction story here:
The intersection is closed and some say there has been confusion with some ignoring the road closed signs.
But some in the neighborhood say this is a minor inconvenience to have to take a detour because of the safety that will come to this intersection.
“People know one way and when that way gets disturbed, it's a little confusing,” said Richard Miller, Knife River Billings foreman.”But as soon as they can do it once or twice, they'll be good.”
Miller says even on the second day of construction on Wednesday, the attention to the traffic signs improved.
And for Miller, this isn't just another construction job.
Near this work site sits a memorial for Danette Hill, killed in a crash here back in June. For Miller, it's personal.
“She's from my hometown of Malta, Montana,” Miller said. “My brother's best friend's mom was actually the last lady who passed away here, Dani Hill, so this means a lot to me.”
Now Miller is helping change the very intersection where his friend lost her life.
He says the roundabout is designed to reduce the chances of more serious crashes.
“You're likely going to hit the side of a vehicle at like an angle,” Miller said. “Not at an angle like that where it's going to be more of a catastrophic crash.”
According to the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT), fatal crashes are reduced 90 percent and serious injury crashes 76 percent, where roundabouts have been constructed at rural intersections.
An MDT spokesperson says the state maintains five roundabouts in the general Billings area, while the city has 15 roundabouts.
But even as this crew works to make this intersection safer, it's dealing with another danger, drivers ignoring the road closed signs and going through the construction zone.
“You could hear them bumping across the intersection, and I saw the tail lights this morning when I got up of someone crossing through there,” said Carol Whittle.
Neighbors say that kind of behavior is part of what made the intersection so concerning.
“That's another problem,” said Sonya McNeish. “That's the reason probably why that intersection was so dangerous because people weren't always paying attention. ”
For the people who live here, the detour may be an inconvenience, but they say a few extra minutes is worth it if this change saves lives.
“It's going to help out a lot because it's going to be, I'm assuming it'll be one single lane,” said Paul Kappel. “So traffic is going to have to slow down. ”
“I like making Billings a little bit safer, especially like this,” said Miller.
Construction started Monday is expected to be complete in November.
"It's about 35 days, somewhere around there, weather depending," said Miller.
