Project aims to fix slumping county road

Flathead County is moving and rebuilding a section of Columbia Falls Stage Road to stabilize a recurring slump.

Construction is underway and Columbia Falls Stage Road is now closed from Montana 35 to Fairview Crossroad for the next four to six weeks.

“We’ll be shifting the road 20 feet to the east for about 2,000 feet,” Flathead County Public Works Director Dave Prunty said.

The county secured the right of way from a landowner on the east side of the road.

Prunty said funding for the project will come out of the Road Department’s roughly $1 million annual asphalt improvement budget, but he could not provide a cost estimate for the Columbia Falls Stage project until it’s completed.

The asphalt improvement fund includes the cost of manpower and materials to maintain the county’s paved roads.

Two years ago a road crew stabilized the slump area, but Prunty said at that time it was only a temporary fix.

A section of road to the south of the slump was showing stressed asphalt and had the potential for another slump, which prompted road officials to figure out a long-term solution.

Dust-abatement material has been applied on Fairview Crossroad in preparation for the detour around the project site, Prunty said. Southbound traffic on Columbia Falls Stage will take Fairview Crossroad to Middle Road, which is paved to Montana 35.