Knocking down the wall

Chuck Harmon of Harmon Crane & Rigging Inc., uses a wrecking ball to knock down a concrete wall Tuesday afternoon at the former gravel pit on Whitefish Stage Road. The land is being cleared to make way for a new rail-served industrial park. The Flathead County Economic Development Authority bought the 40-acre parcel in February from MDU Resources Group. Over the next couple of months, the port authority will hire an engineering firm to help lay out and design the property and determine what infrastructure, including a railroad track extension, will be needed to offer businesses shovel-ready sites in the industrial park. The industrial park will be marketed mainly to manufacturing, wholesale trade and agricultural businesses that need access to rail service. The goal is to have it developed over the next 18 to 24 months.