New access planned for Glacier High

Glacier High School could have an east access as early as October.

Thanks to $22,500 from the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Kalispell Public Schools can move forward with putting in a driveway on the east end of the high school parking lot.

Students in Flathead Valley Community College’s heavy equipment operator program will do most of the work.

The east access “was value engineered out of the final project” when Glacier High was under construction, Kalispell Superintendent Darlene Schottle said at last week’s board of trustees work session.

The district did, however, buy a 175-foot right-of-way from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

At the time, the economy was good and estimates for paving and finishing those 175 feet ranged as high as $400,000.

Since Glacier High opened in fall 2007, the school has had only two access points: to the north off West Reserve Drive and to the west on Wolfpack Way off of Stillwater Drive. Those limited accesses caused substantial traffic jams, particularly at major events at the school.

The new east access will connect to Reserve Loop.

The work is possible thanks in part to $22,500 the district received from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. The department called the district about six weeks ago to discuss the funding, Schottle said.

The money has been dedicated for infrastructure development, said Jeanne Holmgren, chief of the department’s real estate management bureau. As the property’s developer, the department will be responsible for building roads and other infrastructure.

But the money from the state isn’t enough to build the driveway. Kalispell Public Schools will spend about $46,000 out of its transportation fund budget.

That money is earmarked for transportation-related purposes and cannot be put toward the district’s general fund budget, which trustees are expected to finalize Tuesday. Because school buses will use the east access, the district can use transportation dollars for the project, said district clerk Todd Watkins.

It’s possible the district won’t need to spend the full $46,000, he added.

The only part of the project that definitely will go to bid is the paving, Watkins said. Concrete curb and gutter work could also be part of the project; those would go to bid as well, according to Kalispell schools’ systems facilitator Jason Betterley.

According to Stephen Herzog of CTA Architects, who designed and is overseeing the driveway project, it will go to bid in the “not-too-distant future.”

Most of the work will be done by students in Flathead Valley Community College’s heavy equipment operator program.

Although they haven’t yet started on the driveway, students already have been working at Glacier High; they have leveled and graded the area south of the school and worked on proposed softball diamonds west of the building. Once their work is finished, the college students likely will move on to the east access area, Betterley said.

Their work is part of a long-standing agreement between Kalispell schools and the community college. The agreement benefits everyone from the students in the program to the school district to the taxpayers, Kalispell Assistant Superintendent Dan Zorn said.

“It really has been this win-win situation because we’re able to get FVCC a lab to be able to train students, who are providing a service that is a real service, not just a [fake] kind of experience,” he said. “And we’ve saved the taxpayers a tremendous amount of money to be able to get that done.”

Once students get to work on the project, which could happen before students go back to school Aug. 25,  it should only take six to eight weeks to complete, Watkins said.

Eventually, the driveway will have to be torn out and reconfigured. As part of the development in the area, the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation has to reconfigure how Wolfpack Way and Timberwolf Parkway access one another, Holmgren said.

When that happens, Wolfpack Way will be realigned to flow into Timberwolf, which will intersect with Reserve Loop, she said. But the road likely won’t take place until the economy improves development of the state land ramps up.

Schottle told the board that the department indicated it was “15 to 20 years out from any kind of development out there.” Holmgren could not confirm that timeline.

“We have no idea how the economy is going to perform and what’s going to occur,” she said. “If there’s interest, we’re certainly going to pursue that.”

When development does occur, Glacier High’s east driveway will have to be reconfigured to flow into Timberwolf Parkway, Kalispell assistant city engineer Paul Burnham said.

“The long view is build the road right now and build the driveway off that road,” he said. “But because of money ... the school is choosing to simply build the driveway.”

Safety is another reason the district is acting now, Schottle said. The district had to weigh any funds it might spend on the driveway with “safety and ease of entry into Glacier High School.”

When future improvements are necessary, the district will only be responsible for paying for its 175-foot right-of-way, Schottle said.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.