Lots of road work on tap in Flathead County
Flathead Valley motorists can expect lots of road construction work not only this year but also over the next five years.
The Montana Department of Transportation has about $30 million worth of construction projects on tap for 2018 in Flathead County. The state’s project total for the next five years through 2022 in the county is approximately $110 million, according to Ed Toavs, the Missoula District administrator for the Department of Transportation. It includes active construction projects and future planned construction projects.
Toavs and other state highway officials last week briefed the Flathead County commissioners on summer road work and projects nearing their start date.
A new deck will be installed on the bridge over the Whitefish River on Montana 40. Toavs said bids for the project will be let in July, with construction this fall.
A related project now in the study phase is the construction of a three-lane highway from the Whitefish River bridge on Montana 40 to U.S 93. Toavs said traffic on that section of Montana 40 averages between 13,000 and 14,000 cars a day.
“Someday three lanes will be over capacity,” he said. “Right now our interest is getting a three-lane facility. We’re studying it right now.
“We believe we already have the right of way; that’s a big deal,” Toavs said.
Construction work is underway on the final phase of the Columbia Falls Urban Project on U.S. 2 east of the Montana 40 junction and heading to just east of the Flathead River bridge.
The U.S. 2 project includes asphalt paving, sidewalks, curb and gutter, signing, striping, chip seal and signal improvements. Motorists can expect single-lane traffic.
Montana 206 is in the hopper for a major upgrade that’s targeted for construction in 2020 to include time for right-of-way acquisition, Toavs said.
“It’s around 200 right-of-way parcels to acquire. We have the first half close to finished. It takes a long time to get 200 parcels,” he said.
The Montana 206 work will include shoulder widening, slope flattening and general highway safety improvements.
The last phase of the U.S. 93 Whitefish West project, from Mountainside Drive in Whitefish to mile marker 133 past the Twin Bridge Road intersection, is getting closer to reality, Toavs said. “We’re doing pretty well on right-of-way acquisition, and we’re trying to close a couple difficult parcels.
“This road was built in 1936 and it shows,” he said. “We are very motivated. Every time our director is out we take him out [on U.S. 93 West] and he shakes his head.”
Toavs acknowledged the traffic congestion on West Reserve Drive, and said both local and state officials are trying to figure out a funding solution to create a five-lane road from Home Depot to the Whitefish Stage Road intersection as the first phase. Eventually a five-lane road would extend east to U.S. 2.
Funding likely would come from a combination of state bridge funds and Kalispell urban highway funding.
“When we get a funding solution figured out with the Kalispell TAC (Transportation Advisory Committee) we’ll probably do a hybrid acceleration on the design and right-of-way acquisition,” Toavs said.” Behind Russell Street in Missoula [West Reserve Drive] is the highest traffic count in western Montana for a two-lane road. It’s at 20,000 cars a day.”
Features Editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.