Expect plenty of roadwork on U.S. 2 this summer
Folks visiting Glacier National Park or just trying to get around the east side of the valley can expect traffic delays this summer, and a portion of the west side of Going-to-the-Sun Road will close entirely on Oct. 1 and remain closed through the winter.
The Sun Road will close from Oct. 1 to March 15 from Apgar to Lake McDonald Lodge as the Park plans on doing major utility work along the road, including replacing aging sewer lines. Then in 2022, the road in that 9-mile stretch will see final work as part of the overall rehabilitation project, Park spokeswoman Gina Kerzman said.
But the real traffic delays will come this summer as the Montana Department of Transportation plans pavement preservation work on U.S. 2 from Hungry Horse to Nyack. That project has gone out to bid, with an award expected later this month, MDT spokeswoman Lori Ryan said.
That will mean traffic delays heading to the west entrance of the park and the Hungry Horse Reservoir while work is underway.
Inside Glacier Park, Camas Road will see work from the Grist Road to 4 miles north from mid-May to November.
Motorists should expect up to 30 minute delays.
The park will do a mill overlay and install a new entrance station at Fish Creek.
On the east side, Many Glacier Road will continue to see work as part of a two-year reconstruction project.
Motorists should expect 40-minute delays going into the valley and 40-minute delays coming out. The road will open May 28 and close Sept.17. The road work should be completed by early December.
The Park also plans on restoring several bridges. On the Inside North Fork Road the Dutch, Camas, Logging and Quartz Creek bridges all will be restored.
The Inside Road from Camas Creek to Logging Creek will remain closed to motorized vehicles this summer, but people can still hike and bike if construction isn’t going on in the area.
On the east side, there are plans to restore bridges in Two Medicine and at Lee Creek.
Up the North Fork, the North Fork Road from the border to about 5 miles south will see reconstruction under a federal Land Access Program grant starting in mid-July. The $1.9 million project will add some turnouts, but the width of the road will remain the same — about 18 feet.
In 2022, the North McDonald Road bridge over McDonald Creek will be replaced with a bridge that will be built to highway standards.
Also in 2022, Glacier View Drive from Polebridge to the Polebridge entrance station will see work. The project is a partnership between the county and the National Park Service. Millings from the Sun Road will be put on the road, paving it in essence.
The road will then be chip-sealed the following summer, Flathead County Public Works Director Dave Prunty said during a recent North Fork Interlocal meeting.