Decisions lie ahead on bypass

A wide-ranging talk about transportation issues drew more than 200 people to a Kalispell Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Wednesday.

Former Kalispell contractor Jim Lynch, now director of the Montana Department of Transportation, was the guest speaker.

Lynch touched on several topics, including the latest news on the west-side bypass and what effect the recently approved federal highway bill will have on local and statewide construction efforts.

Montana's share of the $286 billion highway bill will be just under 1 percent, Lynch said, or about $2.3 billion over its six-year life.

That includes $30 million for the U.S. 93 bypass around Kalispell and $50 million for Going-to-the-Sun Road.

The problem, Lynch said, is that the bypass could cost $80 million or more, depending on what overpasses, underpasses, access ramps and design options are included.

"Your community is faced with a decision," Lynch said.

With $30 million to spend on construction, he said, one option would be to build the "old" bypass design, which featured at-grade intersections with traffic lights along the entire 8-mile route.

However, "what you'd get is a 20-year-old design, and you have to ask if that's going to serve your future needs."

Alternatively, a commitment could be made to build the "new," limited-access bypass, which has a series of overpasses and underpasses and no traffic lights.

The Kalispell Technical Advisory Committee, which provides advice on traffic improvements in the greater Kalispell area, has previously recommended sticking with a limited-access bypass.

Under that scenario, the project would be built in phases.

The $30 million would go towards the initial phases, with future construction dependent on additional appropriations from Congress.

Mitch Stelling with Stelling Engineers, the firm that's leading the bypass design efforts, said any decision on phasing will come next year after the environmental impact analysis is completed.

A draft analysis should be ready around February, Stelling said. A public hearing would be held on that document, with the final analysis ready by April or May.

"We'd start the final design work after that," he said. "Then we can discuss the sequencing of the bypass. We'll hold public meetings, present some options and the pros and cons of each."

A phased design would potentially feature four or five sections built over a period of years, Stelling said.

Depending on which options are chosen, Lynch said construction on the bypass could begin as early as 2007.

However, that was a best-case scenario that assumed no delays or "hiccups."

Other major construction projects in the area that could be funded by the federal highway bill, he said, include the widening of U.S. 93 between Kalispell and Whitefish, improvements to U.S. 2 in the Swamp Creek area east of Libby, and reconstruction of a section of Montana 28 between Dayton and Hot Springs.

The Montana Transportation Commission still has to approve these projects. It's scheduled to do so on Nov. 18.