Mark Wilcox/Daily Mining Gazette The intersection of M-26 and US 41 in Houghton, referred to as the "Yooper Loop," was the scene of a Thursday accident. While no one was hurt, it does serve as a reminder that with the change of seasons, traffic at the busy intersection is bound to get busier.

HOUGHTON — Police responded to a two-vehicle accident on the US-41/M-26 exchange Thursday morning. There was property damage from a rear-end collision but no injuries, police said.

Colloquially referred to as the “Yooper Loop,” the exchange has drivers from north and southbound US-41 merging onto M-26, with an option to loop around onto SB US-41.

Houghton Police Chief, John Donnelly, said accidents on the exchange are common and Thursday’s was no different. “[The Yooper Loop] takes cooperation by people because you have people coming off of US-41 Sheldon Avenue that want to be able to get over onto M-26 to head south out of town,” he said. “You have to do a lane change in a short amount of space there, and that causes some difficulties.”

According to Donnelly, the accident occurred when a driver slowed down on Shelden Avenue heading onto M-26, causing a back-up which led to the rear-ending of a vehicle. He said both resident and non-resident drivers need to be careful on the exchange.

“With everybody going in the same directions, we don’t have a lot of people injured,” he said. “We still understand that, you know, that’s a lot of property damage that we want to avoid.”

Drivers in the Keweenaw will see an influx of traffic in the summer months as it is the busiest season for tourism and regional visitors. The weather change also marks the re-start of the traffic signal at the intersection of M-26 and Canal Road traffic signal according to the MDOT website.

Although more traffic typically leads to more accidents, Donnelly said the winter months cause a lot more damage. “Houghton is built on a hill and we get 300 inches plus of snow,” he said. “Our winter months definitely will dominate the amount of accidents versus the summer months.”

Donnelly said the best way for drivers to exercise caution on the exchange is to stay in the far right lane if you are heading on SB US-41 onto M-26 and if you are trying to merge onto M-26 from US-41, make sure to merge into the middle lane going south on M-26 in time.

“You should be anticipating lane changes,” he said. “You see somebody trying to make a lane change in front of you, we all have to work together and you give them enough space.”