Whitefish downtown work begins on Tuesday

The Daily Inter Lake

The first phase of downtown street construction in Whitefish begins Tuesday with underground utility work.

To keep the public apprised of the project, the city of Whitefish will publish weekly updates and has set up a separate Web site for project information at http://www.downtownwhitefish.info.

The Web site has a traffic flow map that can be downloaded, and allows citizens to sign up for e-mailed project updates.

Some preliminary activity for mobilization, staging and utility location marking already is under way, according to City Manager Chuck Stearns.

This round of construction focuses on Third Street from Baker Avenue to Spokane Avenue. All businesses in the area will have open sidewalk access during business hours throughout the project, which will continue through mid-November.

Adjacent alley crossings will be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Additional parking has been set up to provide business access.

The streetscape project includes reconstruction of Central Avenue, with widened sidewalks and other amenities aimed at making the downtown more visitor-friendly.

Construction will be done in phases in the fall and spring through the spring of 2012, leaving the prime tourism season of July and August construction-free for visitors.