Meridian, Reserve projects planned this summer

The Daily Inter Lake

Flathead Valley drivers will experience their share of construction delays this summer, with several road projects scheduled for the area.

After a frustrating winter shutdown, work resumed recently on Meridian Road improvements in Kalispell.

The project, which has been on the local transportation wish list for more than a decade, involves widening the road to four lanes between U.S. 2 and Three Mile Drive, with one or two travel lanes and dedicated turn lanes at the intersections. Between Three Mile Drive and U.S. 93, Meridian will be converted to three lanes.

The intersection at U.S. 2 will feature one southbound through lane, a right-turn-only lane and two left-turn only lanes, plus a northbound lane.

The $6.6 million contract for this project was awarded to Nelcon Inc. last summer. The bulk of the work is scheduled to be completed by Nov. 30; the contract prohibits any work from being done during the Northwest Montana Fair.

One of the shorter - but potentially more disruptive - local construction jobs this summer could be a pavement preservation project on West Reserve Drive, along the 2.5-mile section between U.S. 93 to U.S. 2.

The project includes an asphalt overlay, followed by chip sealing and new striping. Dwane Kailey, district administrator for the Montana Department of Transportation, said it also calls for the addition of a dedicated left-turn lane at the U.S. 2 intersection.

That contract is scheduled to be awarded in May.

Other highway jobs scheduled here this summer include the installation of a traffic light at Montana 35 and Shady Lane and the construction of a new bridge over the Swan River in Ferndale.

One other major project that should at least get started this year, Kailey said, is widening U.S. 93 to four lanes from Church Drive north toward Whitefish.

The area immediately north and south of Church Drive is the last section of highway between Kalispell and Whitefish that's left to be widened. The project was split into two phases because of right-of-way and funding concerns.

"Some people are hoping that we tie it all back together and let it as one job," Kailey said. "At a minimum, people would like to get the Church Drive intersection improvements done with the first phase."

The main roadblock to achieving that goal was money, he said. The two phases together - which cover a total of about five miles - are expected to cost around $18 million.

Improvements to Big Mountain Road should go to bid later this year, Kailey said. The actual construction won't begin until next year, although some tree removal and utility relocation work will be this year.