Sun Road contract awarded

The Daily Inter Lake

A Flathead firm has been awarded a $2.5 million contract for Going-to-the-Sun Road reconstruction work scheduled for this summer.

Sandry Construction of Kalispell-Bigfork was awarded the contract for work on the West Side Tunnel portal and locations just east and west of Logan Pass.

Although Sun Road will be open to two-way travel along the entire 50-mile length of the highway throughout the summer, construction-related delays will occur at certain times.

Visitors can expect maximum delays of as long as 30 minutes for a one-way trip across Sun Road during peak hours from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Additional delays are possible from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.

After mid-September, the road may be impassable to vehicles in the upper work areas, at times when work could be accelerated. Logan Pass, however, always will be accessible except when weather conditions may force closures.

Most of this year's work will involve construction of a new section of retaining wall east of the pass and east of the East Side Tunnel, where runoff caused severe erosion last year.

The work is set to get under way this spring, and depending on weather is scheduled to be finished by late fall.

Planning, repair and rehabilitation of Sun Road has been under way since 1988. But comprehensive treatment gets started this year under a environmental impact statement and rehabilitation plan that were approved in 2003.