Ronan roadway project planned for 2018

The Montana Department of Transportation is currently in the design stages of a highway project that will change the course of traffic in Ronan.

Ed Toavs, administrator for the State Department of Transportation’s Missoula district, said the design phase began in 2012. The biggest challenge to getting the project off the ground, he said, is the cost.

“We’ve been designing and reaching out to the public,” he said. “Through development of the project, what we found was the project cost is reaching well over $30 million. For the money that’s available for Western Montana, that’s a lot to put into one project.”

The plan developed by the Department of Transportation, the city of Ronan and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes is split into two phases: The North Ronan project and the Urban Ronan project.

The North Ronan project includes rebuilding U.S. 93 as a divided four-lane road from Dairy Queen in Ronan north to a point where U.S. 93 was built as a divided four-lane highway years ago. In addition to rebuilding U.S. 93 as a divided four-lane, the plan also calls for installing a traffic light at the corner of Old U.S. 93. Toavs said the project will cost about $9 million and work is tentatively planned to begin in 2018.

Ronan Planning and Building Director Dan Miller said the new stoplight at the intersection of Third Avenue Northwest and Old U.S. 93 will be key in relieving traffic between 3 and 6 p.m. when vehicles are leaving the high school and middle school.

“I think it will help with some of the congestion they have during busy times,” Miller said. “It’ll provide another easy way to get onto the highway.”

The second phase, the Urban Ronan project, will ultimately split U.S. 93 through Ronan, similar to its configuration around Arlee. Several residential and commercial properties will be affected by the plan, which will transform First Avenue West into a southbound one-way road and change the existing U.S. 93 roadway into a northbound one-way. Currently, there is no timeline for construction of the Urban Ronan project.

While developing the plan, the participants set a handful of objectives, such as reducing accidents, improving safety and providing roadway improvements.

The Transportation Department counted almost 11,000 vehicles a day in Ronan, according to a study done in 2009. By 2040, they expect that number to reach more than 20,500. According to 2008 data, U.S. 93 through Ronan doesn’t meet state safety and design standards, and sees three times as many accidents per mile as the state average.

“Those counts go up in the summer for tourist season,” Toavs said. “Anyone that’s driven through there at peak hour knows it doesn’t take long for traffic to back up, so there’s certainly capacity and safety issues.”

As for the properties that will have to move for the Ronan Urban project, the Salish and Kootenai Housing Authority is taking steps to ensure programs like the Ronan Boys and Girls Club on U.S. 93 doesn’t disappear after the property becomes a roadway.

Jason Adams, executive director of the housing authority, said the tribes are looking at putting a new Boys and Girls Club facility in the already planned Ronan Community Center.

“We thought it was an option and presented that to the council in the new community center,” Adams said. “I think the motivating factor was that there are several of us involved with the planning of the community center that have seen the value and successes, and need, for the Boys and Girls Club,” Adams said.

Adams said the Community Center will be an appropriate space for the Boys and Girls Club. The center will include a gymnasium, fitness area, kitchen and more.

The North Ronan project may still be two years away, but Miller said he’s appreciative of the communication his department has had with MDT since the beginning of the design phase.

“It’s been nice working with them. They’ve taken input from the county, tribes and Ronan. They’ve listened to our concerns and addressed them how they could,” Miller said. “We’re going to come out with the best possible project that could be.”

The Transportation Department’s presentation on the Ronan highway projects is available at www.mdt.mt.gov/pubinvolve/ronanurban.

Reporter Seaborn Larson can be reached at 758-4441 or slarson@dailyinterlake.com.