A group of local business owners and Kalispell residents discussed funding for the U.S. 93 bypass west of Kalispell with Sen. Jon Tester Saturday afternoon.

It's a project that becomes more urgent every year, as people flock to the valley in droves. If growth continues "at a very conservative rate," Kalispell could double in the next 10 years, City Manager Jim Patrick told the senator.

"Again, [it's] just an emphasis on the need for help," he said. "We can't keep up with it."

The cost of the project is increasing nearly as rapidly as the area's population. In 2000, Sen. Max Baucus secured $11 million for the bypass - an amount then thought sufficient to complete the road, City Planning Director Tom Jentz said.

In today's dollars, however, it will take about $76 million to build the bypass. This does not include the cost of land, which has skyrocketed in the last several years.

In 2000, high-end land cost about $16,000 an acre, Jentz said. Today, the price is upwards of $70,000 an acre.

"So we're not doing five-figure or six-figure acquisitions," he said. "We're doing seven-figure acquisitions."

Based on appraisals, land for the Reserve Connector, the first phase of the bypass which will connect Stillwater Drive to U.S. 93 through the Section 36 school trust property, could cost an estimated $7 million. So far, only about half the land necessary for the entire project has been purchased.

Baucus has secured about $30 million for the bypass, which will be used for construction of the Reserve Connector and part of the south end of the bypass. The remaining $46 million will have to come from annual appropriates "earmarks."

Tester said he and Baucus have been brainstorming ways to find money for the project, a process he said he will continue in earnest when he returns to Washington, D.C.

"We will push as hard as we can to get you as much money as possible," he said. "Every day we wait is probably another $20,000 - you can probably put a price tag on it like that."

Tester toured the bypass route Saturday morning with Kalispell Mayor Pam Kennedy and his recently hired Flathead Field Director, Virginia Sloan. They showed him recent and proposed developments along the route, and, he said, impressed him with the project's urgency.

"What I saw today is a hell of a challenge," he said, "because you're growing so fast."

Several downtown business owners emphasized the safety hazards that exist without the bypass. Margaret LeKander, owner of Wheaton's on First Avenue West, shared a comment from a customer.

"'What is this town thinking, letting logging trucks go down the middle of Main Street?'" she quoted the customer as saying.

Gordon Pirrie, owner of Norms News, said he's amazed there haven't been any accidents downtown because of the heavy truck traffic - or, in the summer, heavy traffic in general.

"It just gets worse and worse, and in the summertime, it's gridlock," he said.

The bypass will help downtown businesses, Fred Ricketts of West Venture Properties told the senator.

"We need to get traffic out of downtown to get the city to grow," he said.

Whatever happens, it's vital the entire project be completed, not just a portion of it, said Mark Rold of Wild Horse Limousine.

Tester agreed.

"If this project goes out much longer," he said, "it is not going to end."

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com