Construction starts on Kalispell bypass

Motorists might see people in orange vests and hard hats working around the U.S. 93 and West Reserve Drive intersection this week as Schellinger Construction starts building the northernmost phase of the Kalispell bypass.

“We are planning on getting busy in the very near future,” Mark Cyr, the company’s office engineer, said.

The $6.7 million project will reconfigure one of north Kalispell’s busiest intersections and build a half-mile of four-lane bypass from there south to Reserve Loop near Glacier High School.

Initially, construction will focus on storm drain, embankment and electrical work outside of the existing roadway and travel lanes.

“Construction activity should be expected between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday,” the Columbia Falls company said in a news release to announce its start on the project.

That work should pose minimal impact for motorists. But construction activity will increase. 

Crews will start replacing the concrete intersection at U.S. 93 and West Reserve Drive sometime after Labor Day in early- to mid-September. That’s when people can expect to see about a month of lane closures and possibly around-the-clock construction.

During the months of September and October, motorists can anticipate minimal impacts and delays during daytime hours with single-lane travel and 15-minute delays between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., Schellinger Construction said.

The company stressed that it will do what it can to minimize the construction’s impact. People should allow extra time for their errands and business appointments. Traffic will be slowed substantially but moved through the area as safely and quickly as possible. The roadway will be opened immediately for all emergency vehicles.

The goal is to complete the intersection work in 30 days or less. Incentives and penalties are built into the construction contract to encourage that outcome. 

“We’re going to be as quick and efficient as we can to try to minimize that disruption and disturbance,” Cyr said.

As the project gets rolling and traffic slows, people should consider using Reserve Loop and Hutton Ranch Road and other alternate routes to get around the intersection. 

Bob Vosen, construction engineer with Montana Department of Transportation, said people will be able to get to all of the businesses at the intersection throughout the project.

“People should be mindful that there will be increased traffic with construction equipment and trucks and people in orange hard hats and vests running around,” Vosen said. “We realize what a large impact this intersection has and what an impact this project will have. We’re trying to keep it as painless as possible.”

When the project is completed, West Reserve Drive will dead-end just west of where it meets U.S. 93 for the intersection to accommodate the new bypass. It will get access to and from the bypass.

Several more phases of construction are needed to complete the northern half of the bypass and connect it to the southern half that runs from U.S. 93 south of Kalispell to U.S. 2 and opened in November 2010.

Schellinger Construction encourages people to report roadway and traffic-control concerns to its traffic and safety supervisor Dean Dwiggins at 240-2882 or Shawn Hollenback at 239-1304.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.