Crowd hears crossing options for north bypass

Kalispell-area residents weren’t shy about sharing their comments about proposals for the north half of the U.S. 93 Alternate Route at a public hearing Monday.

Nearly 200 people attended the meeting designed to gather public input about the four-mile road project pegged to run north from U.S. 2 West ending at West Reserve Drive near U.S. 93.

The south half of U.S. 93 Alternate Route was completed last year.

Much of Monday’s meeting focused on a proposed change to the bypass where it will cross Two Mile Drive.

The current plan calls for construction of an overpass with no access to one road from the other. Initially, nearby residents and landowners didn’t want the street access, Kathy Harris of Stelling Engineers in Helena, said. Stelling is handling engineering work for the bypass project.

A roundabout instead of an overpass now is under discussion, transportation department Director Jim Lynch told the audience Monday.

The possible change came about as a result of conversations with people who live near the interchange, he said. In the six or so years since the overpass discussion began, people have changed their minds, Harris said.

The transportation department favors a roundabout for several reasons, Harris said.

First, it would require the acquisition of less land. It also would provide access to the bypass from Two Mile Drive which is a plus for both the traveling public and emergency service providers. It also would reduced visual impacts.

Roundabouts also are safer than intersections with stop signs or traffic signals, Lynch said, because they force drivers to slow down and pay attention. Most accidents in Montana are the result of inattentive drivers, he said.

A roundabout at Two Mile would cost no more than $700,000, Lynch said, compared to $3 million for an overpass.

Pluses aside, Kalispell resident Madeline Steeley doesn’t want access from the bypass to Two Mile Drive.

Steeley spoke several times Monday expressing her opposition.

The stretch of Two Mile Drive between Meridian Road and the site of the bypass “is now dangerous enough.” She said the roundabout would direct too much traffic down Two Mile toward Meridian to the Flathead County Fairgrounds and would become “a freeway through the middle of our neighborhood.”

“It’s a recipe for somebody to die,” Steeley said.

Pamela Chute said she had been “horrified” at the idea of the overpass. Chute grew up on Two Mile Drive when it was a gravel road. Gravel slowed traffic down, she said, suggesting the road could be gravel again if people are that worried about traffic speed.

Her mother still lives in the family home on Two Mile, Chute said, and doesn’t want a “noisy roadway 15 or 20 feet above her living room window.”

Gary Vallieres said he supports the roundabout, not a noisy overpass.

Terri Smith of the Westview Homeowners’ Association said she and her neighbors support the roundabout at Two Mile. They were worried that “noise from a big bridge would be unbelievable.”

Smith asked if the transportation department could install sidewalks and a bike path along Two Mile, but Lynch said that request needs to go to city and county officials because Two Mile isn’t a state highway.

However, he said, eventually a bike path will run the full length of the bypass. And pedestrian crosswalks would be installed at the roundabout, probably with flashing lights to alert drivers.

Support for the roundabout also was expressed by Jerry Fredericks, who has lived on Two Mile Drive for 33 years.

Kay Owen, a 36-year resident of Two Mile Drive, said Two Mile has always been an unsafe road and was while she was raising her four children there.

“Don’t blame the roundabout,” Owen said. “Kids probably shouldn’t be walking or biking on Two Mile.”

Diane Etter suggested that the bypass intersections at Two and Three Mile drives be treated the same. Three Mile Drive is a wider street than Two Mile, she said, and the lack of access from the bypass to Three Mile will end up forcing more traffic onto Two Mile.

An interchange is planned at Three Mile Drive, with people only being able to get on the bypass from one side and off at the other, but not on and off from both sides.

Chris Hagar of Bigfork agreed that putting more traffic on Three Mile Drive is a better option because of the road’s qualities and the fact that students at Kalispell Middle School are older and better able to deal with more traffic than younger students.

The terrain at Three Mile prevents the installation of a roundabout, Lynch said. But, if enough people say that’s an option they want explored, Lynch said he would evaluate the idea further.

Lynch assured Kathryn Britton that all wetlands, water flow and drainage issues associated with the construction project would be addressed and water wouldn’t end up in the wrong places because of the road.

The north half of the bypass will be built in phases that can be used by the public, Lynch said several times Monday.

Most likely the first part of the project will be construction of a loop road from Hutton Ranch Road running north to West Reserve Drive behind Home Depot and other businesses in Mountain View Plaza. Lynch said the part of that road that already exists is a city street and this phase essentially would be a continuation of that street, not a service road for those businesses.

Money to build the bypass would come from the federal government through the gas tax program. Because of budget stalemates in Washington, D.C., and the uncertainties of federal funding, state officials don’t know when or if the bypass project will be funded. So, Lynch said, no timetable for work is in place. It’s his goal to complete one leg of the new bypass in each of the next five years.

Another roadblock is the lack of agreement for right of way with Flathead Valley Community College (for the loop road) and three property owners on Two Mile Drive (for the main bypass).

Lynch said he is proud of the fact that the Transportation Department reached agreements to buy 130 pieces of land associated with the project without using eminent domain.

Until all the parcels are acquired, final design can’t be completed, Lynch said.

After the public comment period closes on May 11, Lynch said Transportation Department officials and their consultants will evaluate the project and comments and decide what kind of interchanges to install and what part of the project should be completed first.

Eventually, the bypass is to be a four-lane highway with shoulders and a bicycle and pedestrian path.

Reporter Shelley Ridenour may be reached at 758-4439 or by email at sridenour@dailyinterlake.com.