Grants sought for bike path, bypass work

Two Flathead County projects are vying pieces of the $500 million grant pie now available from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Flathead Valley Community College has applied for $10 million to build a pedestrian and bicycle path from Kalispell to Whitefish, parallel to U.S. 93.

The city of Kalispell submitted a $7.2 million request on behalf of the Montana Department of Transportation to build a segment of the north half of the U.S. 93 bypass. The state would provide $800,000 in matching money.

Both grants were submitted in mid-March. Decisions about grant awards are expected in late June.

The proposed pedestrian trail would provide “safe transportation alternatives out of both Kalispell and Whitefish,” FVCC President Jane Karas said, and would help connect existing trails.

The college’s request has support from the cities of Kalispell and Whitefish, Flathead County, Kalispell Regional Medical Center and the Montana Department of Transportation.

Karas said college and hospital leaders support the trail extensions at their campuses for several reasons, including a high number of students and employees who use bicycles to commute to work and people using bikes for both recreation and exercise.

“As a community college, we thought it was good to support this,” Karas said.

Construction of a bicycle path between the two communities creates an opportunity for people to travel to work on bicycles, FVCC grants writer Matt Springer said. With an average of 40,000 auto trips a day on that highway, a separate path for bikes is important, he said.

Hospital personnel like the idea of safely connecting the valley, according to Rebecca Manna, chief policy adviser for government relations at Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for tourism and pedestrians and cyclists in the valley,” she said.

Kalispell resident Pete Skibsrud is pleased the trail application was submitted.

“It would help us tie the loose ends together,” he said. “Trails are hot, part of a healthy lifestyle.”

Skibsrud owns a bridge that he would like to see incorporated into this trail project.

“I bought the Old Steel Bridge because I envisioned it to go across the Stillwater River by the college,” he said. “This is a long-term dream of mine.”

No commitment to use the bridge in the project has been made, but Skibsrud says that doesn’t stop him from dreaming about the possibility and pitching his idea to people.

The trail would begin at Kalispell Regional Medical Center and end at the Amtrak depot in Whitefish.

It would feature two spurs to the college and hospital campuses, including a bridge across the Stillwater River at the college.

While Flathead County isn’t actively involved with either application, county Planning Director BJ Grieve said commissioners provided letters of support for both projects.

Speaking of the trail project, Grieve said county commissioners “are committed to pursuing recreation and transportation opportunities through public-private partnerships in order to have the most benefit and the highest and most responsible stewardship of public resources.”

Trails are community assets that can be used for recreation and transportation, Grieve said, “but they do come with costs,” including initial construction and maintenance.

No plan to maintain the U.S. 93 trail has yet been developed, Springer said.

THE SECTION OF the bypass this grant would fund is the northern piece, from Reserve Loop to the intersection of West Reserve and U.S. 93, said Katharine Thompson, community development manager for the city of Kalispell.

Thompson said this round of transportation investment-generating economic recovery discretionary grants is expected to be as competitive as the past three years of grant distributions. The grant money comes from the federal stimulus program.

Last year, the state transportation department sought $28 million from the same grant source to construct the second phase of the bypass, but received no funding.

“This is an extremely competitive grant program,” Thompson said.

The state’s willingness to “have some skin in the game” with its $800,000 match and to have a project that’s ready to go are advantageous, she said.

The entire north stretch of the bypass would extend four miles between U.S. 2 West, where the south half of the bypass ends, to West Reserve Drive near U.S. 93.

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