Mini-malfunction junction in Helena has seen some changes over the past year, and another one is coming. The signal lights at the intersection of Last Chance Gulch, Helena Avenue, and Neill Avenue went out in mid-July 2024, stop signs were installed at the intersection, and now plans are being drawn up to turn it into a roundabout.
WATCH:
“It’s designed to be somewhat of a gateway feature to the downtown,” City of Helena transportation systems director David Knoepke said of the roundabout.
Changing mini-malfunction junction into a roundabout has been in the works for a while. Knoepke said a 2012 study identified a roundabout as the best option for the five-way intersection.
In 2014, a long-range transportation plan for the city of Helena, Lewis & Clark County, and the Montana Department of Transportation also recommended a roundabout for the intersection.
Most recently, the city’s 2021 five-point intersection study again found mini-malfunction junction should be turned into a roundabout.
Public comment on changing from a five-way intersection to a roundabout was open until around mid-summer 2023.
Some people feel a roundabout is a welcome change. Patty Kessner wrote on Facebook that while she does not like roundabouts, she thinks mini-malfunction junction will benefit from one.
“The stop signs at the intersection are frightening,” she wrote. “I wait my turn an look all directions but have been very close to being hit by impatient drivers.”
Janet Shipley also likes the idea of a roundabout at that intersection.
“Yes it would be a great move!” she wrote on Facebook.
Others are not sure a roundabout is the best solution. Todd Christofferson said he likes roundabouts, but thinks one is not needed at the intersection of Last Chance Gulch, Helena Ave. and Neill Ave.
“The current STOP signs appear to be moving traffic WAY faster than the previous traffic lights,” Christofferson wrote on Facebook. “That being the case, I see no need in spending revenue on a roundabout at this location.”
Some people, like Nolan Baker, expressed concern about the impact a roundabout would have on pedestrians.
“No! Too much foot traffic down that way,” Baker wrote on Facebook.
While stop signs may work now, Knoepke said they are not a long-term solution for the intersection. He said a roundabout will better handle traffic flow, and accommodate growth and more traffic downtown.
“We are projecting there is going to be an increase to vehicle volumes downtown,” Knoepke said. “This will help get those people to get where they’re going.”
Studies show roundabouts are safer than intersections with stop signs or signals—they can reduce crashes by almost 50 percent, and reduce injury crashes by up to 80 percent.
“The serious injury accidents where you have someone blow through a stoplight because they’re going 35 miles-per-hour, then T-boning somebody is just not there,” Knoepke said.
The project will cost an estimated $2 million to $2.5 million, and construction is tentatively expected to start in summer 2026.
There will be future opportunities for public input in the project—possibly including how the roundabout will look and different timeframe options for construction.
