City looks at reworking Airport Road

The city of Kalispell is taking early steps to improve two problematic intersections where Airport Road meets 13th Street and 18th Street on the south end of town.

The first intersection is where Airport Road crosses South Main Street and turns into 13th Street on the other side near the Montana Club. The second is farther south, close to where First Avenue West also hits Airport Road and just west of Big Sky Animal Clinic.

The city released a Request for Qualifications for traffic engineers capable of surveying the area and recommending improvements.

Katharine Thompson, assistant director of community and economic development with the city, said the city has no preconceived notions about what the improvements might look like, they just wanted to make it better.

“We don’t pretend to be traffic engineers,” Thompson said. “We’re cognizant of the fact that there will be more traffic and more pressure from that end of town.”

Airport Road is the site of a new elementary school currently under construction that is expected to open next fall.

She said that once the applications are received the city will go over them and pick a qualified contractor to do the traffic study and recommend improvements. The city will then digest the recommendations and decide whether to move forward.

Statements of Qualifications from contractors hoping to do the traffic study are due at 5 p.m. on Dec. 7 to the city clerk’s office. There will be a pre-submittal conference at 3 p.m. on Nov. 27 where city staff will go cover the scope of the work and respond to questions from those interested.

Thompson said the city had no particular budget set aside for the project and she didn’t know how much the traffic study would likely cost. She said once the city picks a contractor, they would enter into negotiations with that contractor and determine a price.

More information can be found on the city website.

Reporter Peregrine Frissell can be reached at (406) 758-4438 or pfrissell@dailyinterlake.com.