No limits on truck access yet

Area residents and trucking-industry representatives met with the state Department of Transportation this week to talk about possible truck restrictions on Montana 35, but transportation director Jim Lynch didn't commit to a definite course of action.

The state held meetings in Somers on Wednesday and in Polson on Thursday to glean public input.

"No decision is going to be made tonight," Lynch said in Somers, stressing that the goals of the meetings were to present existing conditions and gather public input.

After a second round of public input and analysis, the department will hold a formal notice and comment period if changes to truck restrictions are contemplated, Lynch said.

Before opening up the Somers meeting to questions and comments from an audience that included truckers, residents, state representatives and Department of Transportation officials, Lynch gave a statistically detailed presentation of traffic patterns on Montana 35 and U.S. 93.

Some highlights:

. 9.18 miles of Montana 35 between Bigfork and Polson lie within 100 yards of Flathead Lake; 2.06 miles of U.S. 93 between Somers and Polson lie within 100 yards of Flathead Lake.

. Between Bigfork and Polson, Montana 35 has 648 access points - or 19.1 per mile. Between Somers and Polson, U.S. 93 has 498 access points - or 11 per mile. Access points include roads, driveways and entrances to ranch or farm fields.

. Road grades of between 5 and 7 percent occur at least twice as often on U.S. 93 between Somers and Polson than they do on Montana 35 between Bigfork and Polson. U.S. 93 between Somers and Polson also has road grades ranging from 7 to 13 percent, while Montana 35 between Bigfork and Polson does not.

. Motorists described "breakdowns in vehicular flow" and "virtually no usable gaps in the traffic stream" on most of Montana 35 between Bigfork and Polson. Motorists described only a restriction or loss of "freedom to maneuver" and reduced "physical and psychological comfort levels" on U.S. 93 between Somers and Polson.

. According to a count of one day of truck traffic in May, about 4 percent of trucks on Montana 35 between Bigfork and Polson carry fuel. Another 1.7 percent carry other types of hazardous materials. About 3.7 percent of trucks on U.S. 93 between Somers and Polson carry fuel. Less than 1 percent carry other types of hazardous materials.

. Average annual daily traffic on both Montana 35 and U.S. 93 has remained relatively constant between 1999 and 2008.

. About 20 percent of trucks traveling on Montana 35 between Bigfork and Polson are from Flathead and Lake counties, 61 percent are from other parts of Montana, and 19 percent are from out of state. About 19 percent of trucks traveling U.S. 93 between Somers and Polson are from Flathead and Lake counties, 43 percent are from other parts of Montana, and 38 percent are from out of state.

. Of trucks involved in crashes on Montana 35 between Bigfork and Polson, 81 percent are from Montana, 13 percent are from other U.S. states, and 6 percent are from Canada. Of trucks involved in crashes on U.S. 93 between Somers and Polson, 72 percent are from Montana, 25 percent are from other U.S. states, and 3 percent are from Canada.

. Between 1998 and 2007, cars traveling on Montana 35 between Bigfork and Polson got into crashes about 16 times more often than trucks. Cars on U.S. 93 between Somers and Polson got into crashes about 19 times more often than trucks. Statistics on the overall ratio of cars to trucks on those roads were not available.

. For trucks, Columbia Falls to Polson via Montana 35 and Montana 206 is 59 miles, takes 75 minutes, and burns 9.9 gallons of fuel. Columbia Falls to Polson via U.S. 93 and Montana 40 is 74 miles, takes 100 minutes, and burns 16.2 gallons of fuel. The times it takes to travel the distance along the actual lake on Montana 35 and U.S. 93 are comparable.

"THIS IS not to tell you one way or the other," said Lynch, noting that some of the data was preliminary. "This is to give you some information."

During the question and comment period, the floor was divided almost equally between residents who in the interest of safety wanted to see the implementation of additional truck restrictions on Montana 35 and truckers who said any additional restrictions could cripple commerce in the Flathead Valley.

Most residents seemed to support restrictions barring only trucks carrying fuel or other hazardous materials from using Montana 35. All seemed to have concerns with the way truckers drive.

"We have a wake-up call, and I think we need to listen to it," said Sue Hanson, who lived along Montana 35 for 20 years, in reference to the April 2 tractor-trailer crash that spilled more than 6,300 gallons of gasoline into the ground near Finley Point.

Truckers defended their commitment to safety, commenting that their lobby has been most persistent in asking the Legislature for seat-belt laws, acceptable speed limits and other safety measures.

"The [Department of Transportation] has always worked hand in hand with us to come up with more and better safety measures," said Spook Stang, executive vice president of the Montana Motor Carriers Association.

Trucking-industry representatives have said they will resist any state effort to limit truck access to the highway, which is federally funded. Even though Montana 35 has a lower speed limit than U.S. 93, truckers sometimes prefer that route between the North Flathead Valley and Missoula because Montana 35 is flatter and quicker and burns less fuel.

Lynch did confirm that Montana has the authority to impose truck restrictions on Montana 35, should it decide to do so.

"There are already restrictions on federally funded highways in the state of Montana," Lynch said.

Vehicles exceeding 10 feet in width and 55 feet in length for single units and 110 feet in length for combinations - which must also be under 14 feet 6 inches in height - are prohibited from traveling Montana 35 and U.S. 93 after 3 p.m. Friday to sunrise Saturday and from noon Sunday to sunrise Monday, according to Lynch. Larger tractor-trailers have more restrictions, according to the Transportation Department.

LYNCH ALSO spoke about some popular measures to control truck traffic.

"Scenic highways in themselves do not limit trucks," said Lynch, noting that designation as a scenic highway does not provide additional authority to change speed limits or restrict commercial vehicles. In addition, the scenic highway program is prohibited from trampling on other agencies' jurisdictions to impose restrictions.

And speed-limit reductions may actually increase the number of crashes by creating a "speed differential," Lynch said.

The meetings came two weeks after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency assumed oversight of the fuel spill.

The agency issued an administrative order requiring Billings-based Keller Transport Inc., the company that owned the tanker truck, to provide a work plan specifying cleanup efforts and a schedule for completion. The work plan must earn EPA approval before being put into effect.

"Extensive" actions remain necessary to clean up the spill, according to the EPA. Engineers estimate there still are about 5,000 gallons of fuel left in the ground.

The cleanup effort's costs have grown beyond the amount of Keller Transport's liability insurance coverage, which pays up to $1 million. A second insurance company will step in to cover additional costs.

Following the crash, Lynch ordered staffers to begin considering the state's options to limit truck traffic on Montana 35.

The Department of Transportation is accepting comment until July 7. Opinions, comments and concerns may be submitted by mail to Dwane Kailey, District Administrator, P.O. Box 7039, Missoula, MT 59807-7039, or online at www.mdt.mt.gov/mdt/comment_form.shtml.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com