Avoiding 'malfunction junction'

Transportation committee approves latest bypass design

The latest design proposal for the U.S. 93 bypass west of Kalispell earned a unanimous recommendation on Thursday, but its $80 million price tag almost guarantees that the project will be built in several phases.

The design was prepared by Stelling Engineers, a Great Falls firm hired to provide technical services for the bypass. It updates an earlier proposal unveiled last year, taking into account public comments received since that time, as well as input from the Montana Department of Transportation and various local officials.

The biggest change is at the north end, where the bypass intersects with West Reserve Drive and the main stem of U.S. 93.

The initial design featured an at-grade (ground-level)

intersection. However, a traffic analysis found that this would lead almost immediately to an unacceptably poor level of service, as cars backed up in the turn lanes.

Stelling considered a number of alternatives - including multiple-level traffic lanes, with turn lanes running above or below the main traffic lanes - but they all caused access problems with the surrounding businesses.

The latest proposal calls for a new "loop" road that would siphon south-bound traffic off of West Reserve, routing it behind Home Depot and the Mountain View Plaza retail center before reconnecting to U.S. 93 between Target and Flathead Valley Community College (see map).

The loop road - which also allows traffic to move north - would run right through the middle of the recently approved Hutton Ranch Plaza retail/theater/entertainment center. It would then cross U.S. 93 back to the west side of U.S. 93, south of the new Costco, before tying back into the bypass.

Designer Mitch Stelling said vehicles could still turn left at the West Reserve/U.S. 93 intersection. The loop road would simply give drivers more options and help spread the traffic out over a wider area.

The estimated cost of the new design - including the loop road, the West Reserve/U.S. 93 intersection, and a new frontage road located northeast of the intersection - is almost $11 million.

By comparison, the initial intersection design was expected to cost about $1 million.

Stelling presented his proposal to the Kalispell Technical Advisory Committee on Thursday.

The committee, which is made up of city, county and citizen representatives, is responsible for reviewing transportation improvements in the Kalispell area. It unanimously approved Stelling's bypass design.

Former Kalispell businessman Jim Lynch, now the director of the Montana Department of Transportation, was at Thursday's meeting. He congratulated the committee on its decision.

"You came close to creating a 'malfunction junction' at that north end," Lynch said. "Now, it's a nice looking intersection."

Flathead County residents will be able to review the latest bypass design at a public hearing on Aug. 9.

Beside the changes at the north end, the bypass features full-access intersections at U.S. 2, Four Mile Drive, Foy's Lake Road, and west of Lowe's on the Section 36 school trust property.

There would also be limited access at Three Mile Drive, Sunnyside Drive and Airport Road.

Only the south and north ends of the bypass would have traffic signals. All other intersections would have under- or overpasses, so that traffic could flow freely from one end to the other.

However, Stelling noted that the access ramps and under/overpasses associated with this free-flow design have bumped the total estimated cost of the bypass up from about $28 million (for at-grade intersections) to $80 million.

Lynch and other transportation officials made it clear that it's up to local residents to decide which version of the bypass they want.

The lower-cost option wouldn't move traffic as smoothly, but Lynch said funding for it could be secured more easily.

The free-flow version would be more efficient. Given its higher price, though, the funding would come in over a longer period and the project would be built in stages. For example, the right of way for all access ramps might be acquired up front, with construction postponed to some future point.

Stelling said the intent of Thursday's meeting - as well as the upcoming public hearing - is to identify a preferred design for the overall project. Once that's done, the phasing and construction priorities could be determined as funding became available.

"My biggest concern is that if we don't agree on the ramp and intersection design, it will be very difficult to acquire right of way in the future," he said.

Lynch indicated that Congress was still wrangling over the size and details of the latest six-year highway funding bill.

As of Monday, he said, the bill had about $30 million earmarked for the bypass. However, there are no guarantees that that will remain in place.

A final version of the bill, which has been tweaked and debated for more than a year, is expected to come out of conference committee shortly.

Reporter Bill Spence may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at bspence@dailyinterlake.com