Federal roadway safety grants awarded to Kalispell, Whitefish

The cities of Kalispell and Whitefish have earned federal grants to develop roadway safety plans.

Part of the Safe Streets and Roads For All program, the grants are funded by the the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The law was signed by President Joe Biden in November 2021.

Kalispell is receiving $520,000 and Whitefish $160,000 to create safety plans designed to prevent roadway injuries and deaths.

Kalispell’s spend on the planning process will total $650,000, according to Planning Director Jarod Nygren, with the remaining funds coming from the city and the Montana Department of Transportation.

Whitefish City Manager Dana Smith said the municipality’s plan will focus on the recommendations coming out of last year’s transportation plan. Priorities identified in that plan include intersection improvements, center medians, and additional upgrades along U.S. 93 South and Wisconsin Avenue.

In an email, Smith said that the city will look at missing shared use path connections, crosswalks, transit stops and Americans with Disability Act improvements, as well as improving visibility around crosswalks and transit stops. Smith also said that the city will be looking at traffic calming, and carpooling or transit incentives to reduce congestion.

In Kalispell, the priorities are along Main Street and in the city’s downtown core, according to Nygren. The city previously identified reworking the downtown area through prior Downtown and Move 2040 transportation plans.

According to Nygren, the grant will allow for the city to hold discussions with the project’s many stakeholders, including the state Department of Transportation, Flathead County and downtown business owners.

After finalizing the grant terms with the Department of Transportation, the discussion and consulting process is expected to take a year and a half, according to City Manager Doug Russell.

In a statement released by his office, Democrat Sen. Jon Tester celebrated directing the federal dollars to the two cities.

“I’m proud to secure this funding so that folks in the Flathead can get to school and work without worrying,” said Tester in the statement. “These investments are a great start, and I know folks in the Flathead will put these resources to good use keeping people safe.”

Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke also applauded the grants as well as the local officials examining transit issues.

“Safety and security should always be the top concerns of elected officials whether it’s national security from foreign threats or the safety of our streets right here at home,” he said in a statement.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg likewise lauded the benefits of the grants. In all, the administration announced on Feb. 1 the awarding of about $800 million to more than 500 projects around the country as part of the Safe Streets and Roads For All program.

“Every year, crashes cost tens of thousands of American lives and hundreds of billions of dollars to our economy; we face a national emergency on our roadways, and it demands urgent action,” Buttigieg said in a statement.

Reporter Adrian Knowler can be reached at 758-4407 or aknowler@dailyinterlake.com