KLJ Engineering receives national award for work on Kalispell core project

KLJ Engineering has received national recognition for its work on the Kalispell Core and Rail Redevelopment project.

The firm was recently awarded a National American Council of Engineering Companies Honor Award. The Kalispell project received the award in the transportation category.

The national competition recognizes engineering firms for projects that demonstrate an exceptional degree of innovation, complexity, achievement, and value, according to a release.

The project converted an obsolete gravel pit (brownfield) into the Glacier Rail Park; relocated rail-served operations from downtown to the rail park; and replaced the old rail line with the 1.6-mile linear park and trail, along with a new signaled intersection on U.S. 2.

KLJ Engineering, in partnership with Alta Planning + Design, provided environmental documentation related to decommissioning of key sites related to the project, including a former grain elevator, two gas station facilities, a fertilizer plant, a former gravel pit overlapping a state Superfund site, and a BNSF railroad site.

They also assisted in securing project funding, supporting dozens of public engagement initiatives, stormwater design including detention and treatment, lighting and electrical design, conversion of a railroad bridge for pedestrian use, a new signalized intersection, competitive project bidding, and construction oversight and administration.

The project was completed in partnership with the City of Kalispell, Flathead County Economic Development Authority, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields, and U.S. Department of Transportation’s Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program, Kalispell Business Improvement District, Kalispell Downtown Association, BNSF Railway, Watco Companies, and business leaders and private citizens.

“The team’s professionalism, leadership, and more than 10 years of staff commitment throughout the project gave us confidence to make the right decisions in support of our community, immediately and long into the future,” said Jarod Nygren, the city’s development services director.

The project, a $40 million public-private partnership, has catalyzed reinvestment in the area. By mitigating environmental impacts at more than a dozen sites, and reorganizing rail service, the project spurred new development of housing, businesses, and lifestyle amenities across Kalispell’s Core Area, while enhancing rail access for businesses, the firm notes in a release.

An estimated $200 million in private redevelopment is completed, underway or planned in the area as a result of the project.