During the past few months Marshall residents awaited the completion of a new roundabout on West College Drive next to the National Guard Armory.

The 2025 reconstruction of West College offered an opportunity to improve the three-way stoplight at the point where it intersects Country Club Drive and Second Street. A roundabout seemed like the best solution. I heard some skepticism as it was being built. Some people felt that the stoplight had always served its purpose. They thought it might have been simpler and less costly to simply rebuild the street and leave the stoplight in place.

I think almost everyone likes the roundabout now. Many people made special trips to the southwest corner of town last month to try it out.

I had driven roundabouts in the Twin Cities suburbs of Watertown and Mayer on my way to see relatives in the Wayzata area, and also in newer neighborhoods of West Omaha where my sister lives. I didn’t think we’d see one in Marshall, but the opportunity to improve the three-way intersection was too good to pass up.

It’s a perfect place for a roundabout. There’s only a moderate amount of traffic, so there’s almost never a delay in getting onto the circle.

There’s no need to stop and wait for the light to change. It’s still just as effective as a stoplight when it comes to slowing down the traffic. Another advantage is that vehicles can go in any direction. Turns that weren’t allowed before are now possible.

I like how the roundabout is landscaped. It should be easy to maintain and it includes a Marshall sign. The intersection will serve as a gateway to the downtown business district.

It’s the biggest transportation improvement that’s happened in Marshall in a long time. It’s probably the biggest since they created protected left turns at stoplights.

We’re fortunate that Marshall has a very good network of streets. Everyone can easily go from home to work or to shop.

The street system has expanded in a good way in response to long term population growth. When the Minnesota Highway 23 bypass was built it was outside of town. Now there’s a large amount of development south of the bypass. It’s where most of the recent business and housing growth has taken shape.

Roundabouts are a good response to increases in the amount of traffic. They work well when the traffic is significant but not excessive.

I can’t think of any other place in Marshall where we need one. The first thing that came to mind was the intersection of East College Drive and Bruce Street since East College Drive is scheduled to be rebuilt in 2026.

I don’t think a roundabout would work in that location because the traffic is extensive on weekdays. A great deal of time would be spent waiting at the yield signs. Drivers would be likely to get impatient and not take turns. Another problem would involve cutting into the new Kwik Trip.

Even if we don’t get any more roundabouts, it will be important to maintain our streets and enhance them if possible.

There will most likely be more growth and more changes in traffic patterns. Windstar now runs only from Saratoga to Highway 59. The street could eventually branch out to the east and run all the way to Minnesota Highway 19 by Kruse Motors.

We’re sure to look back at the roundabout as a good change. It will be an asset to the neighborhood. There might be more of a chance of finding a new purpose for the County Fair property and having new development at the former location of West Side Elementary School.

One thing that’s certain is that Marshall won’t stay the same in the future. We’ll need to respond with a vision for how we want to grow. We have a good city comprehensive plan that outlines what we want Marshall to someday look like.

One of the main comments in the most recent comprehensive plan update was that city leaders should plan for growth. We have progressive business people who want to expand and create jobs. We need infrastructure improvements that help to give them opportunities.

— Jim Muchlinski is a longtime reporter and contributor to the Marshall Independent