Michigan Left - Description

Description

The design occurs at intersections where at least one road is a divided highway or boulevard, and left turns onto—and usually from—the divided highway are prohibited. In almost every case, the divided highway is multi-laned in both directions. When on the secondary road, drivers are directed to turn right. Within 1⁄₄ miles (400 m), they queue into a designated U-turn (or cross-over) lane in the median. When traffic clears they complete the U-turn and go back through the intersection. Additionally, the U-turn lane is designed for one-way traffic. Similarly, traffic on the divided highway cannot turn left at an intersection with a cross street. Instead, drivers are instructed to "overshoot" the intersection, go through the U-turn lane, come back to the intersection from the opposite direction, and turn right.

When vehicles enter the cross-over area, unless markings on the ground indicate two turning lanes in the cross-over, drivers form one lane. A cross-over with two lanes is designed at high-volume cross-overs, or when the right lane turns onto an intersecting street. In this case, the right lane is reserved for vehicles completing the design. Most cross overs must be made large enough for semi-trailer trucks to complete the cross over. This large cross-over area often leads to two vehicles incorrectly lining up at a single cross-over.