City holds open houses on Reserve Drive improvements

The City of Kalispell will host two open house events this week regarding the city’s intent to submit an application for a grant to make improvements on West Reserve Drive.

The public open house events will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 7 at the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce Conference Room located at 15 Depot Park Loop, Kalispell.

The city is partnering with the Montana Department of Transportation to submit a grant application to the U.S. Department of Transportation for road and intersection improvements on West Reserve Drive from the west side of the intersection at Hutton Ranch Road to the east side of the intersection at Whitefish Stage Road. The public is invited to drop in to an open house event to review supporting information, maps and images of the project area, and a draft application, though no formal presentation will be provided. The two open house events will include the same information and are intended to offer schedule flexibility and convenience to attendees.

Public comment on the grant application and letters of support can also be sent to publiccomment@kalispell.com.

The city will request $25 million for the estimated $33 million project cost. MDT funds would be paired with grant funds to complete the project. The West Reserve Drive Corridor Planning Study completed October 2021 provides much of the data and identified improvement options serving as the basis for the grant request. The U.S. Department of Transportation Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant program has replaced the BUILD and TIGER grant programs that the city previously received.

The grant program is funded by the Local and Regional Project Assistance Program in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The RAISE grant application is due April 14, and the U.S. Department of Transportation expects to announce grant awards in mid-August.