Is the Breitung cutoff a safe intersection?
Posted: 02.23.2012 at 7:09 PM

QUINNESEC -- The Breitung cutoff has been the site of many accidents over the past few months.  Some people blame the lack of signage leading up to the intersection, but the Michigan Department of Transportation says this isn't the case.

But it's a wide open area with plenty of sight distance, so why are the accidents occurring?

“The traffic is coming faster than you might expect,” said Joe Rogina, “so you have to kind of gauge your entrance into that intersection.  In other words, you have to gauge the speed of the traffic coming toward you.”

With a 55-mile-per-hour speed limit, that's not always easy.

“You might look one way and back the other way, that car is on you awful fast at 55 miles per hour,” Rogina says.

Some say the lack of signage is a problem.  They're saying there isn't enough specification on the signs as to how the intersection works.

The Michigan Department of Transportation disagrees.

“Based on everything we see, as far as the intersection, there really isn't a need for more signage,” said Mike Premo.

Shane Moratti has had some close calls at this intersection and hopes some changes will be made.

“We were coming from Niagara to Iron Mountain, and we were just about at the Breitung cutoff, and someone came flying across from the right and basically had to slam on the brakes and honk my horn, otherwise, probably would have got in an accident,” said Moratti.

The Michigan Department of Transportation is planning on doing a study here within the next few weeks to help determine whether or not a traffic light could curb the amount of accidents.