Whitefish U.S. 93 study now under way

The Daily Inter Lake

The first public meeting for the Whitefish U.S. 93 urban corridor study is slated from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at Whitefish City Hall.

A brief project presentation will be made later that evening during the City Council meeting.

The Montana Department of Transportation and city of Whitefish have begun a communitywide transportation planning process to determine highway infrastructure needs through 2030.

One component of the planning effort is the urban corridor study of U.S. 93 through downtown Whitefish.

Coordination with the Whitefish downtown master plan and recommendations for aesthetics and land use will be taken into consideration.

The goal will be to analyze reasonable design options and develop a preferred option based on the original Environmental Impact Statement done in 1994, according to a project newsletter distributed throughout Whitefish.

The study area begins on U.S. 93 at 13th Street, continues north on Spokane Avenue to Second Street, continues west on Second and ends just west of Baker Avenue.

A citizen advisory committee was formed in March to assist in planning. Project Manager Sheila Ludlow with the state Department of Transportation is taking the lead in the project, with assistance from Whitefish Assistant City Engineer Karin Hilding and consulting firm Robert Peccia & Associates. Ludlow can be reached at 444-9193 or e-mail sludlow@mt.gov.