Decision on bypass expected

The Daily Inter Lake

The Kalispell City Council will decide tonight whether to support or oppose the Flathead County stance on which parts of the U.S. 93 Bypass construction should begin in 2008.

The council will vote on whether to repeat its previous position that all federal construction money should go to the southern half of the bypass first.

If that position passes, the council would oppose recent votes by the county commissioners and the Technical Advisory Committee that the first parts of the bypass should include building a road behind Mountain View Plaza to connect Hutton Ranch Plaza with West Reserve Drive. The committee advises local and state governments on highway issues in the central Flathead Valley.

Also south of U.S. 2 West, some groundwork and the building of two bridges should be tackled soon, the commissioners and the committee said.

But Hutton Ranch Plaza's back-road construction goes against what the city and county governments supported a few months ago.

The Montana Department of Transportation has said it will follow the wishes of local governments in scheduling construction of the federally funded bypass during the next several years. However, the state needs a local joint decision soon to start construction next year.

Overall, the 8-mile, four-lane bypass around western Kalispell is expected to cost almost $76 million - with inflation accounted for through 2010. That estimate does not include an extra $24 million for ramped interchanges at Airport Road and U.S. 2 West, which are supposed to be built after everything else is finished.

Congress has appropriated almost $26 million to mostly cover engineering and buying right-of-way property. Most of the right-of-way land has not been bought. However, most is expected to be bought during the next two years.

For 2008, all this leaves an existing $2.9 million for construction, plus another $6 million expected to come from Congress. Legally, the construction work can borrow a little money from the right-of-way funds if needed.

This means that $8.9 million should be available for bypass construction work in 2008, with the ability to borrow some extra money.

However, a recent city government memo said all that U.S. Sen. Jon Tester's office indicated all that money might not become available in 2008. The memo did not elaborate.

On paper, the bypass project is split into seven highway construction phases stretching from the West Reserve-U.S. 93 intersection in northern Kalispell to U.S. 93 at Gardner's Auction in southern Kalispell.

Eight bridges also must be built.

Also, a two-lane street is planned to connect the back side of the Hutton Ranch Plaza with West Reserve Drive west of its intersection with U.S. 93. This is to be a traffic-diluting measure for the intersection at U.S. 93 and Reserve.

The commissioners and Technical Advisory Committee members contend that the public will want to see some tangible highway improvements quickly. They think that back roads will dilute traffic buildup at the U.S. 93-Reserve Drive intersection. Also, they fretted about years of building bypass segments that cannot be used until two or three are linked.

That back street has an estimated cost of $3 million.

Meanwhile, the city and county apparently agree that next year must accommodate $4.3 million worth of building two dirt embankments on the bypass route just south of U.S. 2 West. These two spots hold soft soil just north and south of Ashley Creek where it flows near U.S. 2 West.

The idea is that the extra dirt will settle and harden the soil in those two areas for a year or longer, so the highway can be built on top.

Finally, the committee and commissioners recommended that two bridges at $1.3 million each be built to twice-cross Ashley Creek near Gardner's Auction and near U.S. 2 West. Those proposed bridges are in the southern half of the bypass - the segment that the city wants to see built first.

The $2.6 million for two bridges, $3 million for the Hutton Ranch Plaza road and $4.3 million for the soil-settling work adds up to $9.9 million. That means $1 million would have to be borrowed from the right-of-way purchase funds.

Also at 7 p.m. today, the council is scheduled to:

. Discuss a joint project among the city, state and Hockaday Art Museum to enlarge the intersection of U.S. 93 and Idaho Street, build pocket parks in each corner, and put statues in each corner.

One corner is set to hold a statue set of two white-tailed bucks created by Sherri Saunders. The second corner's set will be a grizzly sow and two cubs created by Daniel Parker. The bucks are scheduled for delivery during spring.

No selections have been made for the final two corners.

. Vote on whether to approve a contract to allow city sewage-treatment-plant customers just north of the Evergreen Sewer District to use Evergreen's lines to ship their sewage to the Kalispell facility.

. Vote on whether to allow the Meadowlark Montessori preschool to operate in a residential area while being allowed to enroll as many as 25 children.