Final round of Fourth Avenue paving begins

Crews will begin final preparation and paving for the second phase of the Fourth Avenue East water-main replacement project on Thursday in Kalispell.

LHC Inc. will close all Fourth Avenue cross street intersections from Fifth Street through Ninth Street. Traffic control will be in place at 8 a.m. on Thursday morning. LHC crews will reopen those intersections once paving has been completed on Friday. No parking in the work zone will be allowed during this time period.

Kalispell City Engineer Keith Haskins said the water-main project is on schedule to wrap up by the end of October.

“One part of the specifications is we have to be past Hedges [Elementary School] prior to the start of school. They’ll be pushing to get that done,” he said.

The Eighth and Ninth street intersections near the school will be open once school begins Aug. 30, but the city won’t open all cross streets along Fourth Avenue East until the end of October.

Once the paving is completed LHC will have 15 days to finish street striping and crosswalk marking, Haskins said.

The replacement of 14 blocks of water pipes along Fourth Avenue East is the largest street reconstruction project in recent years, Kalispell Public Works Director Susie Turner said.

The city converted Third Avenue East to two-way traffic on June 1 after decades of using the street as a southbound one-way route. Once Fourth Avenue East, which has been a northbound one-way street, is completed it also will be converted to two-way traffic.

Feedback from the traveling public has been a mix, Haskins said.

“Most of the residents [in that area] are still in favor of it,” he said. “A lot of people who have used it historically as a through-street feel some frustration.”

The city’s intent was to convert the streets to local neighborhood traffic that allows cars parked on both sides of the street.

Turner said the city will be studying potential intersection improvements in the project area next spring and summer. She reminded motorists that the area remains a construction zone that requires drivers to use caution and be mindful of traffic controls.

The city is posting street construction updates on Facebook and Twitter. Call Sam McCartney with questions at 406-212-0027 or LHC at 406-758-6420.