Atlas Twp. – Linda Stachelek watched the construction crew line M-15 at Kipp Road with orange barrels and was thankful.
‘This is a great project,? said Stachelek, owner and director of Rainbow Day Care Center, 11303 Kipp Road. ‘We have been waiting for this to happen for years now. When we first opened, there were mostly farms around here and M-15 wasn’t that busy. It seems like the traffic has almost tripled since then.?
Stachelek, parents, and staff of the preschool-age day care center are relieved to see a left-turn lane on southbound M-15 installed after a host of accidents occurred just a few yards from the playground.

‘The most recent accident happened when our children were on the playground,? she said. ? A motorcycle wasn’t watching and he rearended a vehicle and flew through the air. Many of our children saw that. I don’t know if the man survived or not,? said Stachelek. ‘I also know a man was killed who lived in the subdivision across the street when he was making a right-hand turn.?
The traffic moving south just before the day care center at Kipp Road, Stachelek said, goes around a curve, which she believes has limited visibility for drivers to see a car turning left in enough time to stop.
Tiffany Dresbak, a parent of a child who attends the day care center, was pleased with the construction project.
‘The left-hand turn lane will be a good thing because I will feel better knowing that when I turn left onto Kipp Road it will be much safer, knowing traffic is moving past me,? she said. ‘However I hope consideration will also be made at the intersection of M-15 and Green Road, where it is also very dangerous.?
Michael Hemmingson, Michigan Department of Transportation, Davison manager, said the $279,000 project will be finished sometime in October. He said although they would like to correct other dangerous intersections along M-15, there is only so much money given by the state for safety projects like this every year.
‘We don’t have a never-ending pot, there is only so much money available for safety projects, and we have to prioritize them,? he said. ‘This is statewide money that is put aside throughout the state, and there are a lot of cities and counties vying for that same safety money.?
After MDOT examined traffic crash histories along M-15 they determined the need for the left hand turn lane at Kipp, Hemmingson said.
‘We analyzed the crash patterns that have occurred when traffic turns left on Kipp Road going south,? he said. ‘According to the study, they are mostly rear-end collisions. We knew we could prevent these crashes by moving traffic over to a left-hand turn lane.?