PLANO - The City of Plano is opening the state's first "Michigan left turn" intersection today.
It's part of a plan to do away with drivers turning left who tie up traffic at Preston Road and Legacy Drive.
The new turn went into effect just after rush hour Tuesday. For those heading westbound on Legacy and wanting to take a left onto Preston, they will now have to take a right at Preston and then immediately veer into a left turning lane, which will take them south onto the street.
Phyllis Euguene was among several dozen drivers who stopped in the former left turn lane on Legacy and prepared to make a turn onto Preston. Plano Police Sgt. A.D. Paul stepped in front of her car.
"We've got a new traffic design," he told her as he handed her a card explaining how to navigate the new configuration. "You've got to go straight."
"All the time?" asked Eugene, who was driving to a dentist appointment. "What are we going to do?"
While the city expects some confusion and traffic at the beginning of the new turn's introduction, they hope it will soon ease traffic woes. The $2.4 million project is designed to reduce rush-hour jams at one of the Plano's most congested intersections. About 80,000 vehicles travel through the intersection every day.
Two other sections that will soon have the Michigan left turn will be at Preston Road and Plano Parkway and at Coit and Spring Creek roads in fall.
The Dallas Morning News contributed to this report
