Dust-control experiment falls short
An experimental product placed on Mennonite Church Road in Creston to reduce dust has not worked as well as Flathead County officials had hoped.
"It did reduce dust but not to a level we found acceptable," Public Works Director David Prunty said.
After the experimental soil stabilizer fell short of expectations, the road department this week placed magnesium chloride on Mennonite Church Road and Jensen Road in Columbia Heights.
The experimental product was a GMS Soil Stabilizer from Greenmarket Solutions, a company in Oregon. The county had applied the product to Ashley Lake Road last fall and was impressed with the results.
Prunty said that Ashley Lake Road has tighter corners that slow down traffic. Mennonite Church Road is a straight stretch of road that frequently accommodates higher speeds. The crushed gravel on both roads came from county gravel pits, so the materials were comparable.
"Stabilization-wise, we like what it did on Mennonite Church Road," Prunty said. "We believe it's going to reduce our maintenance and make a better ride for the citizens. There's still a benefit to the product."
The county had hoped the product would stabilize the road and reduce dust. Because it didn't perform up to expectations, the county will no longer use the Greenmarket product to fight dust.
"We tried to kill two birds with one stone," Prunty said.
Mennonite Church Road has an average daily traffic count of 416 vehicles and is 1.8 miles long.
The treatment was applied to the first 700 feet of the road east of Montana 35. A half-mile stretch of the road's middle section was not treated because there are no homes nearby.
Treatment continued from Odegard Lane to the intersection of Creston Fish Hatchery Road.
The dollar amount that went into treating Mennonite Church Road and Jensen Road likely exceeded $10,000, which is the cost required by a settlement between the county and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality over past road-dust violations.
Public Works Director David Prunty told county commissioners in June that he would like to go beyond the $10,000 mark and treat other roads.
County officials reviewed gravel roads that do not have any planned treatment options by citizens or companies and chose four roads based on traffic count, the amount of through traffic, and the number of homes in close proximity to the road.
"We're looking at some other roads, but we've got to see where we're at money-wise," Prunty said.
Reporter Michael Richeson may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at mricheson@dailyinterlake.com