Will New Laws Change How We Navigate Montana’s Roundabouts?

Have you seen these street circles that have been popping up around Montana since the 2000s? The first notable occurrence was in Billings, out at the Shilo Road corridor. Seemingly out of nowhere in 2009, these big, yellow bugs began popping up, paving circles along the intersections of Shilo Road. A five-legged street circle appeared in Missoula in 2017, and the first circle in Butte at the Rocker interchange in 2019.

Roundabouts aren’t anything new to the world, even though their implementation in Montana is still in its early years. With Montana cities like Billings, Bozeman, and Missoula seeing an increase of population and vehicular traffic, the Federal Highway Administration began conducting environmental assessments in hopes of curbing the increasing traffic rates in Montana back in 2002. This study, as well as numerous others (such as this one from the FHWA) show the increase in safety from roundabouts vs other interchange methods.

These numbers may be in jeopardy, however. Senate Bill 433: Revise Right-of-Way Laws for Roundabouts passed through its third reading in the House with a 98-1 vote (George Nikolakakos [R-HD 22] against; Greg Oblander [R-HD38] absent), completing its travel through the Montana Legislature and heading to Governor Gianforte’s desk.

SB 433, Giving tow vehicles the right of way in a roundabout is a common sense “hospitality” bill that recognizes that long tow vehicles sometimes need extra room to navigate the tight radius of a roundabout." said Sen. Manzella. “The bill makes navigating roundabouts safer by recognizing the challenges of long loads. It also makes roundabouts more polite by having those in passenger vehicles yield to those driving tow vehicles who are often times hauling our goods and animals to market.

The Revise Right-of-Way Laws for Roundabouts bill would change the right-of-way around roundabouts, and potentially put Montana drivers in the traffic jam of the court system. With the bill authorizing the deviation from lanes for hauling vehicles, civilian drivers unaware of this new law could be blindsided, both figuratively and literally, by the new law. In places like Shilo Crossing in Billings (a four-lane highway with double-lane roundabouts) the change could be even more drastic, allowing hauling vehicles to cross into and take up both lanes of the roundabout.

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What are your thoughts on SB 433? Do you oppose the hauling right-of-way, or is this a much-needed safety regulation? Send me an email with your thoughts at caden.bjornstad@townsquaremedia.com, or send in a message on the app!