So far, the Kalispell U.S. 93 bypass has cost $102 million

Should Montana Transportation Commission members prioritize, or slow or halt completion of Kalispell’s bypass?

If it’s the former, they would have to steer about $33 million more of the state’s road funding toward the project.

If it’s the latter, they would have to mothball a project that’s shovel-ready and more than half-built at a cost of $102.6 million.

That’s a big change of mind about an unfinished road — but it’s a feared outcome local officials are taking seriously after recent statements by commission members.

At a Kalispell Technical Advisory Committee meeting on Wednesday, Kalispell, Flathead County and Montana Department of Transportation restated their belief that finishing the bypass is the Kalispell area’s top transportation priority.

They also reaffirmed their choice of Four Mile Drive as Kalispell’s next federal urban highway project. It’s a separate project that ties in with the bypass.

Local officials and the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce are trying to organize an overwhelming show of support for both roads at the Montana Transportation Commission’s next meeting on Sept. 26 in Helena.

“We have a window, and not a big one, to have that entire road system completed, to bring that to fruition,” Kalispell Planning Director Tom Jentz said of the bypass. “We have a short, wonderful window where this works. If we don’t act now to carry it through now, if we decide to let the chips fall where they may, it could happen in 15 to 30 years if you look at the size and scale of other projects that will come online.”

The Montana Department of Transportation wants to finish the bypass.

Department officials expect design and engineering work, plus acquisition of the last three properties needed for the project, to be wrapped up within a year. But transportation commission approval is required to pay for three more phases of construction needed for a fully functioning bypass.

“From my perspective, I would like to deliver it. And we will be ready to deliver it in 2015 at the earliest,” said Ed Toavs, Missoula District administrator for the Montana Department of Transportation. “I think you could make the argument that a bypass that is only a half-pass does not serve the full purpose and intent of what the bypass was for. That’s the bottom line.”

Members of the state commission in July took no action to approve or deny Kalispell’s request to build Four Mile Drive. They said they have concerns about the estimated $3.1 million project. They went on to say they also have questions about the Kalispell bypass and how it fits with other transportation priorities.

Local officials hope it’s just a matter of “education” and bringing transportation commission members up to speed on the projects.

Kalispell wants to build Four Mile Drive with its roughly $600,000-a-year share of federal urban highway money. The project would complete the unfinished road from U.S. 93 to Stillwater Road, taking advantage of the area’s sloping topography to put in a bridge over the planned path of the Kalispell bypass. The bypass could then connect to the road with a full interchange.

The idea is that Four Mile Drive can be designed and built in two or three years — well before a six-year deadline federal regulations impose for new road projects — and immediately improve one of the most congested areas in not only Kalispell but all of Western Montana.

The Kalispell bypass has been in the works for more than 20 years and consumed a sobering $102.6 million as of this September.

That total includes money for engineering, design and property acquisition and for building Reserve Loop, Hutton Ranch Road and the southern half of the bypass that opened in 2010 and runs from U.S. 93 south of Kalispell to U.S. 2. It also includes ongoing construction of the $6.7 million northernmost phase of the bypass.

The northern segment runs from the U.S. 93/West Reserve Drive intersection south and west to Reserve Loop near Glacier High School.

Construction of the Kalispell bypass has been largely fueled by $21.3 million in federal stimulus spending and $54.5 million in congressional earmarks, funding that has not pulled “core program” money from other road projects in Montana. But with no more earmarks or stimulus spending in sight, core program money must be tapped to finish the bypass and that requires Montana Transportation Commission approval.

There are three projects left to be built for a fully functioning bypass: A reconstruction of Three Mile Drive, estimated to cost $5.2 million; a stretch of bypass from U.S. 2 to Three Mile Drive, estimated to cost $14.5 million; and a segment from Three Mile Drive to Reserve Loop, estimated to cost $13.2 million.

Toavs said there are many expensive transportation priorities in Western Montana. They include replacing the South Fork Bridge, rebuilding the U.S. 93 Whitefish Corridor and major roadwork in Ronan and Libby.

“There are lots of needs. But those projects are at like step two or three out of 10. The bypass is at step nine,” Toavs said, adding that those other projects continue to progress and have ambitious completion schedules. “I think the opportunity to deliver this [Kalispell bypass] in the next couple years with some help is pretty good. Later in the decade, not so good.”

The next Montana Transportation Commission meeting is the time and place for Kalispell to make its case that the bypass needs to be finished.

“Now is your chance to show if the public really wants it. If state, county and city representatives and the business community attends, that’s something they don’t [normally] get. If you want something bad enough, get your people to show up. It will make an impression,” Toavs said.

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