U.S. 2 traffic could get ugly this summer

Columbia Falls could be a tough place to drive through this summer. The Montana Department of Transportation plans to mill and resurface U.S. 2 through the city limits from North Hilltop to the Flathead River Bridge.

Sidewalks will be widened to 8 feet and street lights will be moved so they no longer are in the middle of the sidewalks. In addition, the traffic lanes will be narrowed to 11 feet each.

The work will run through the heart of the tourist season, from mid- to late-July into September. More than half of all the traffic that goes to Glacier National Park in the summer months has to travel through Columbia Falls to get to the West Entrance. July and August are the two busiest months of the year.

Last Tuesday, the Columbia Falls City Council decided to allow extended construction hours to accommodate the project. Under city ordinance, construction activities are generally allowed from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. But after some discussion, the city granted an extension of hours until 10 p.m.

City manager Susan Nicosia noted the construction is bound to have some noise associated. Preliminary meetings with the transportation department indicated they will be using jackhammers to take out the old sidewalks.

At least 500 city homes are close enough to the highway to experience some noise, including two hotels.

The highway was last reconstructed in the late 1970s. The city was hoping to have more say in the project. They would have liked a boulevard design for at least some it, to encourage traffic up Nucleus Avenue. But MDT said the project was already designed.

The summer of 2017 promises to be busy with other road construction projects. MDT will also replace the bridge over the South Fork of the Flathead at Hungry Horse.

Inside Glacier National Park, the Sun Road will see construction from Apgar to Avalanche Creek — the last leg of the multi-year reconstruction project of the highway. Motorists can expect delays up to 30 minutes when construction is taking place.