Michigan Left - Locations

Locations

The Michigan Department of Transportation first used the design at the intersection of 8 Mile Road (M-102) and Livernois Avenue (42°26′46″N 83°08′28″W / 42.4461°N 83.141°W / 42.4461; -83.141 (M-102 (8 Mile Road) at Livernois Avenue)) in Detroit in the early 1960s. The increase in traffic flow and reduction in accidents was so dramatic that over 700 similar intersections have been deployed throughout the state since then.

In 2009 the Victorian state government in Australia announced the introduction of a "P-turn", similar to the Michigan left, in the southern Melbourne suburb of Frankston. Traffic in Australia drives on the left: the P-turn requires right-turning vehicles to turn left then make a U-turn.

The design has been proposed in Toronto to relieve motorists who wish to make a left-turn on roadways which will contain a proposed streetcar line by the Transit City project.

In Mexico, Guadalajara has a grade-separated variation of this setup in the intersection of Mariano Otero Avenue and Manuel Gómez Morín Beltway (20°37′50″N 103°26′06″W / 20.630666°N 103.434981°W / 20.630666; -103.434981). Traffic flowing through Mariano Otero is routed through an overpass above the beltway, with two access roads allowing right turn on all four possible directions; the U-turns, meanwhile, are built underneath the beltway and allow the left turn from Mariano Otero avenue to the beltway. U-turn intersections are very common throughout Mexico, particularly in Mexico City.

Brazil is also known to utilize this setup especially in São Paulo.

The city of Plano was the first city in Texas to use a Michigan left. One was built in mid-2010 at the intersection of Preston Road and Legacy Drive.

The city of Draper, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City, announced in 2011 that it would be building Utah's first "Thru-Turn" at the intersection of 12300 South and State Street, just off Interstate 15 through Salt Lake County. Construction began in summer 2011 and was completed in fall 2011.

Also in the Salt Lake City area, the suburb of South Jordan implemented a temporary "ThrU Turn" at the intersection of 7800 South and Bangerter Highway. The intersection is in use during construction of a diamond interchange at that location. The intersection began operating in January 2012 and will continue until construction is complete.