Officials serious about Echo Lake road closure

Flathead County officials are taking an additional step to keep traffic off of a closed road that crosses Echo Lake.

Causeway Lane was closed June 27 because much of the quarter-mile long road was under water. It remains under water as the level of that lake stays high.

“It would be easy for someone to drive right off of the road, because it’s under water,” Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said.

In spite of the “Road closed” signs and some barricades at the road, county officials have received reports that people are driving across the road and that some people are using the road as a launch site to get their boats on the lake.

Water has been reported as deep as 18 inches on some parts of the road, county Public Works Director Dave Prunty told county commissioners Tuesday.

So, concrete barricades are to be placed at each end of the road Wednesday to prevent people from driving on it.

“Our biggest concern is that of safety,” Curry said. “We don’t want to dig someone out of the lake who drives off the road.”

Additionally, vehicles driving on a road covered with water can damage the road surface, he said.

Once water recedes and the lake level drops, the road will be reopened to traffic, Prunty and Curry said.

Causeway Lane was closed due to flooding in the late 1990s, but fortunately the road’s surface wasn’t damaged that year, Prunty said.

Echo Lake is under a temporary no-wake order for watercraft, too, following June 29 action by  Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

The no-wake order was issued to prevent damage to the shoreline and structures around the lake because the lake is full.

All watercraft operators are prohibited from creating visible white water in the track of the vessel as long as the order is in place. Until the lake’s water level recedes, the order will remain in place, state officials said.

Echo Lake is fed by groundwater and has no outlet to drain excess water.

As mountain snowpack continues to melt, groundwater flooding is expected to continue throughout the county, and to affect such sites as Echo Lake, county Fire Service Area Manager Lincoln Chute said.

“There’s still a lot of snow in a lot of places up high,” Chute said.

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