The City of Missoula issued a press release on Friday stating that the intersection of Lower Miller Creek Road and Linda Vista Boulevard will be undergoing traffic control changes starting on January 2.

Ben Weiss, Bicycle/Pedestrian Program Manager and a traffic specialist for the City, said on Friday that the changes will affect all drivers who use the busy intersection, especially with the addition of the new Jeanette Rankin Elementary School in the Maloney Ranch area.

“The maneuver that we are really trying to caution people about is that if you are westbound on Lower Miller Creek Road, that is when you come off the roundabout and are heading home and you want to  make a left turn onto Linda Vista Boulevard, the traffic coming towards you on Lower Miller Creek Road from Maloney Ranch or Rankin School, they are not going to be stopping, so people making a left hand turn onto Linda Vista Boulevard are going to have to use some more caution,” said Weiss. “It will take a little bit of adjustment, so one of the ways we are drawing attention to the change is we are making that new stop sign at Linda Vista Boulevard extra large, a full three feet big instead of two feet big.”

Weiss said the city is also posting warnings before drivers reach the intersection.

“There’s also going to be an advanced warning sign, it could even be a teleprompter warning of the new configuration stop ahead,” he said. “We’ve put this traffic change on the police department’s radar, and there may be extra patrols in the area to monitor the changes, but nothing is definite at this point.”

Police are urging drivers who use the roads on a regular basis to take note of the changes and slow down when approaching the intersection.

Weiss said the issue of new sidewalks and trails to the recently opened Rankin Elementary School will be addressed in 2019.

More From 94.9 KYSS FM