US 2 roundabout, interchange near Kalispell almost complete

The new $5.2 million roundabout on U.S. 2 at the Dern/Springcreek Road intersection west of Kalispell will open to motorists in October, state highway officials told the Flathead County commissioners during an Aug. 10 briefing about road construction projects throughout the county.

"Dern/Springcreek is going really well," said John Schmidt, a district construction engineer with the Montana Department of Transportation. "We'll be done and traffic will begin using the intersection in October."

State crews will wrap up the final elements of the roundabout project next spring with chip-sealing, striping and other finishing touches.

In addition to installing a roundabout, crews will flatten the slope on U.S. 2 to increase visibility for drivers.

The state also is removing the roundabout that connects the U.S. 93 bypass and Foys Lake Road, and replacing it with a highway overpass and two smaller roundabouts serving as on- and off-ramps to the bypass. A BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) grant is covering most of the $14.7 million cost.

The effort to replace the Foys Lake Road roundabout is "going really well," Schmidt said.

"We're still on schedule for full opening in November," he said. "In the next month you'll see the bridge take place."

That project also will be wrapped up next spring with chip-sealing and other final details.

While the Airport Road roundabout on the bypass currently is "more than capable of handling" a growing traffic load, it's under study now for a future conversion to an interchange. Afterward the state will tackle the intersection of the bypass with U.S. 93, said Bob Vosen, the administrator of the Transportation Department's Missoula District, which includes Flathead County

"We're particularly looking at the northbound left turn onto the bypass, recognizing we may need to look at additional turn lanes," Vosen said.

Commissioner Pam Holmquist said she'd like to see an off-ramp to get to the bypass and pointed to "a lot of accidents" happening at the U.S. 93 bypass intersection.

Vosen said there initially was discussion about a flyover, a high-level overpass, but the idea was nixed because Kalispell city leaders were concerned about the economic impact of diverting too much traffic to the alternate route.

ANOTHER MAJOR road project underway in Flathead County that is impacting travelers this summer is a $12.8 million pavement preservation project on 26.2 miles of U.S. 2 between Hungry Horse and Stanton Creek. Most of the Americans with Disabilities Act work has been completed, Schmidt said. Sidewalk ramps and approach ramps were upgraded to meet federal ADA standards.

"The microsurfacing should start in the next week to two weeks," he told the commissioners. "It's really weather-dependent. The pavement has to be warm. It won't take place at night."

The project also includes upgraded guardrails and additional rumble strips, all aimed at highway safety. A total of 357 crashes were recorded between 2009 and 2019 on that section of U.S. 2, according to the Transportation Department's website.

The barrier at the Moccasin Creek bridge will be reconfigured so it will allow more room for turning vehicles to exit the highway.

ROAD OFFICIALS also detailed new projects that are in the pipeline for sometime beyond 2025.

The Whitefish U.S. 93 Urban Corridor Study will guide what road configuration will be used through downtown Whitefish. That study will present several alternatives for handling traffic on U.S. 93 through the downtown corridor.

"We've narrowed it down to a few choices," Vosen said. He said a public meeting is planned Sept. 16 that will detail information in the draft study with visuals that will help the public understand the various options. More information about the meeting is forthcoming, he said.

In the meantime, the state will complete some much-needed maintenance on several blocks of Spokane Avenue/U.S. 93.

The state will coordinate with the city of Whitefish on interim repair that will include ADA upgrades on seven crossings on Spokane Avenue from Second to just north of 13th Street. Vosen estimated the sidewalk work will start next March, with a mill and fill pavement preservation project planned after that next spring.

"We've got the Kalispell ADA project underway, and we'll write a change order to include some work in Whitefish," Vosen said.

"The road is getting to be in really rough shape," Vosen noted about Spokane Avenue. "This is just interim repair; it's not a long-range final fix."

VOSEN FIELDED questions from the commissioners about the status of the Old Reserve Drive project to improve the road between Farm to Market and Stillwater roads. The state plans to rebuild about 3 miles of the road at a projected preliminary cost of about $15 million.

Proposed work includes realigning the horizontal and vertical roadway alignments, widening the top surface to include 8-foot shoulders and finishing with a chip seal, new pavement markings and signage.

A shared-use path had been planned on the south side of Old Reserve to provide a safer roadway between the West Valley School and Glacier High School, but that amenity has been pulled from the project.

Holmquist quizzed state highway officials about the status of the project.

"We were told we got the money; now I see it's beyond 2025. What happened?" Holmquist asked. "We haven't had a secondary project for some time."

She wondered if the shared-use path had stalled the project.

"We had a gentleman's agreement that you guys (the Department of Transportation) would do the heavy lifting and that fell apart, and we were told the county would have to plow" the path.

The long-term maintenance of bike and pedestrian paths has been an ongoing issue for both the county and the state because of the cost.

The county has declined to provide ongoing maintenance of paths, and Vosen said the state is not taking on additional liabilities.

"We have to protect the money in that account," he said. "It's a challenge all across the state; long-term maintenance is a challenge."

Vosen said the Old Reserve Drive project is not being "penalized" because of the path maintenance issue and noted "removing the path will bring it up quicker" on the state's priority list.

The rebuild will include 8 feet of asphalt shoulder outside of the white line, he added.

ANOTHER ROADWAY where the community would like to see a shared-use path is Montana 35 in Bigfork, where the Ice Box Canyon project is slated for sometime beyond 2025. That project will reconstruct the highway just south of the intersection with Peaceful Drive and extend north through Ice Box Canyon, to just north of Chapman Hill Road.

The project calls for a 12-foot travel lane in each direction, a center left-turn lane in the area between Peaceful Drive and approximately the south end of Ice Box Canyon, a raised median barrier through the canyon, and a left-turn deceleration lane northbound at Chapman Hill Road. Roadway shoulder, horizontal curve, clear zone and drainage improvements also will be included in the roadway reconstruction, according to the Department of Transportation.

The project will require right-of-way acquisition and utility relocation.

"The community has indicated they would like a shared-use path, but one of the big challenges is coming up with the funding to maintain it," Vosen said. "It takes completely different equipment."

Vosen said he's hearing community interest from Bigfork residents in an approach similar to the Evergreen community, where sidewalks are planned along the U.S. 2 corridor.

Evergreen community leaders applied for a $1 million state grant to complete the work. Earlier this summer the commissioners created a special district that would tax the owners of 61 properties along the highway to cover the maintenance of the sidewalks in perpetuity. However, a clause in the county's resolution requires the Evergreen community to pitch in $50,000 for the project.

Holmquist said she hasn't yet heard from any Bigfork organization offering to take on a proposal similar to Evergreen.

Vosen said his thought "is if the community wants a path, we need a maintenance agreement signed with the county. I think Evergreen can be a good model for these communities."

News editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 406-758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.