Summer means road work in Flathead County

As usual, Flathead Valley residents will have a few state and county road construction and maintenance projects to navigate this summer.

Flathead County Public Works Director Dave Prunty this week outlined the summer construction and maintenance project itinerary for county-maintained roads.

A 1-mile stretch of Jellison Road, across from Glacier Park International Airport off U.S. 2, will undergo a “total reconstruction” between Pioneer Road and the road’s intersection with the railroad tracks. Prunty said construction will begin the week after the Fourth of July holiday and hopefully will be completed by the end of August.

Prunty said companies managing multiple gravel pits alongside the road are going to help by providing approximately 6,500 yards of “pit run” material for the project.

Another major construction project is on Rabe Road, a gravel road off of Blankenship Road just west of the Blankenship Bridge. Prunty said the county wants to improve the road while also moving it farther from a steep drop-off into a drainage.

“We’ve had great cooperation from landowners,” Prunty said. He hopes to begin the project in September if conditions are dry enough.

The county just completed a project on Holt Stage Road on the east side of the Flathead River bridge, which moved the road farther away from a steep drop-off on the south side of the road. Prunty said the road will look “a lot better after a couple years of grass growth” and weed spraying.

As for maintenance projects, the county will conduct chip-sealing operations for approximately three weeks, from the end of July through the first week of August. Prunty said most of the roads slated for chip-sealing this summer will be on the west side of the county, including the West Valley and Marion areas.

The county also has some asphalt overlay projects in store. Prunty said they are currently doing asphalt overlay on a 6-mile stretch of Pleasant Valley Road near Marion.

And of course, “there will be unexpected projects that come up” from time to time, Prunty said.

The Montana Department of Transportation has two large projects slated for the Kalispell area.

John Schmidt, construction engineer for the Missoula District, said there is a “concrete rehab” scheduled for West Idaho Street between Meridian Road and Underpass Hill. The project will start the end of July and go through November, though most work will be done at night.

The state will undergo one of the largest construction projects in the area when it replaces the roundabout at the intersection of Foy’s Lake Road and the U.S. 93 bypass with an interchange. The project is set to begin some time this summer, but the state is still working out the details and should have an update in the coming weeks.

The state is also performing an asphalt overlay project on Montana 486, or the North Fork Road, from the viaduct in Columbia Falls to the end of pavement, a stretch of approximately 11 miles. Schmidt said the project will start this week, weather-permitting, and last for “about a month-and-a-half.”

Reporter Colin Gaiser may be reached at 758-4439 or cgaiser@dailyinterlake.com