Cost increase could restrict access to bypass

Soaring cost estimates for the U.S. 93 bypass west of Kalispell have prompted a potential redesign that would eliminate more than half of the access points along the eight-mile route.

If approved, the redesign would remove any connection to Airport Road, Foys Lake Road, Three Mile Drive or Four Mile Drive.

Drivers would only have full access to the bypass at U.S. 2, plus a new intersection just west of the Lowe's Home Improvement store. In all, seven of 12 entrance ramps and seven of 12 exit ramps would be eliminated.

J. Gary Kalberg, the Department of Transportation's construction engineer for western Montana, discussed the latest design options during a Flathead Business and Industry Association meeting on Tuesday.

He stressed that no final decisions have been made, and that whatever happens ultimately depends both on funding and on right of way availability.

The estimated cost of the bypass recently tripled, from $28 million to about $93 million, largely because what was initially expected to be a two-lane road with at-grade (ground level) intersections and multiple traffic signals is now a four-lane highway with multiple overpasses and no traffic signals except at the north and south ends.

Kalberg said the $93 million estimate also includes an "urban" cross-section along the northern half of the route, meaning it would have curbs and gutters. It doesn't include right of way or utility relocation costs.

It's doubtful that this "Cadillac" version of the project could be built, he said. There's currently no money specifically earmarked for it - and even if Congress were to set aside the dollars, it's questionable whether enough right of way could be acquired.

The problem, Kalberg said, is that the state doesn't feel it can prove necessity.

With most highway jobs, the state can demonstrate that it needs a certain amount of land to do the job. Consequently, it's able to condemn the property and acquire the right of way even when landowners don't want to sell.

With the bypass, though, it would be difficult to prove in court that entrance or exit ramps are really needed at Airport Road or Foys Lake or the other county roads.

"We'd still like to buy the right of way for some of these access ramps, but the landowners would have to be willing sellers," Kalberg said. "In some places, we don't think they'll want to do that."

In response to both the funding and right of way issues, the state scaled back the design to an estimated $58 million version that maintains what it feels are the most critical components: Overpasses, so traffic could flow unimpeded from one end of the bypass to the other, and full access at U.S. 2 and at Lowe's.

This would allow the project to fulfill its initial purpose, Kalberg said, by creating a bypass around downtown Kalispell.

However, because access would be so restricted, he said, this wouldn't be a quicker, more convenient route for local drivers looking for an easier way to get to work - although it might remove some through traffic from local streets and relieve congestion in that way.

Kalberg said the absolute earliest that construction could begin would be about 2008, although that depends entirely on funding. Without a direct appropriation from Congress, it will probably be postponed until after 2012.

Flathead County Commissioner Gary Hall, who attended Tuesday's FBIA meeting, questioned whether a four-lane bypass would still be needed, if local access were greatly restricted.

"I'd love to see a scaled down version that [freed up] $5 or $10 million to build the LaSalle connector," Hall said. "Reserve Drive and Whitefish Stage Road also need to be improved."

The LaSalle connector would run from the U.S. 2/Montana 35 intersection south to Conrad Drive, creating a de facto bypass east of Kalispell.

Bob DePratu was concerned about public reaction to this potential redesign.

"I think John Q. Public is under the impression that if we spend $58 million for a bypass, it means he'll be able to leave home and get where he's going sooner and easier," DePratu said. "And with this [redesign], he won't."

A public meeting is tentatively scheduled for April 21, at which time more information should be available regarding the status of the bypass funding and the potential design options. The Department of Transportation is encouraging people to attend and voice their opinions and concerns.