The voice of Montana’s Department of Transportation director came through loud and clear from the speaker phone in the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce office Tuesday morning.

“Kalispell, you have the start of a bypass,” Jim Lynch said.

A cheer went up from a group of local leaders listening in by teleconference as the Montana Transportation Commission awarded the contract to Ames Construction for the first 1.54-mile segment of the south half of the U.S. 93 Bypass.

This stretch of road will go south from U.S. 2 near Rodeway Inn to Airport Road. Bids will be let for the second stretch of the south-half route on Dec. 3.

Ames, a nationwide firm that bid the job from its West Valley, Utah, office, will do the job for $12.5 million, 22.41 percent under the state estimate. Its bid was the lowest of seven submitted last Thursday. Nelcon Inc. of Kalispell was the lowest of the five local firms bidding and the second-lowest overall at $13 million.

Lynch acknowledged the city’s sentiment that had pushed for a local firm to get the job, but explained both state and federal highway laws require that jobs go to the “lowest responsive bidder.”

The highway department reviewed bid documents to be sure Ames bid to the specifications and to confirm it is licensed to do business in Montana.

“Sometimes it comes as bittersweet,” Lynch said. “But sometimes you have to award the bid to one that’s not in-state.”

But the local economy still will get a boost, he said. Gravel will have to be bought locally. Local trucks will be used for hauling. Asphalt could be provided locally. Hotel rooms will be rented, restaurant meals will be sold, fuel will be bought and more revenue will come in, all the way down to licensing fees for construction equipment and pickup trucks operated in Montana.

And it could bring some relief for the Flathead’s unemployed work force.

“There’s a lot of talent in the area, and we’re hoping some local people can be employed,” Lynch said.

A “notice to proceed” will be issued to Ames Construction on Nov. 30. Excavation work can begin anytime after that, with work continuing into the winter as weather allows.

A two-lane driving surface should be ready by Thanksgiving 2010. Chip-sealing and grass seeding along the roadway are planned for spring 2011.

Lynch gave a nod to a couple of concerns the city voiced.

To avoid the perception that Kalispell is a city to be passed by, and to direct non-truck traffic into town, it won’t be called a bypass.

Now it will be known as the U.S. 93 Alternate Route, at the request of Kalispell Chamber and government officials.

Signs will be posted directing Glacier National Park visitors to follow the main U.S. 93 route that runs through Kalispell. There will be signs indicating the way to historic downtown Kalispell. With heavy truck traffic diverted, downtown Kalispell will become a safer and more pedestrian-friendly place, Mayor Pam Kennedy pointed out.

“This will be a benefit to commercial traffic, it will help local residents get around, and tourists can get around easier,” Chamber President Joe Unterreiner said, celebrating the accomplishment after years of work to bring it to reality.

“It is an economic stimulus for downtown Kalispell,” Kennedy said. “It will attract people into the core, the heart of the Flathead Valley.”

Kalispell Planning Director Tom Jentz said that sheer numbers alone have made this alternate route a critical piece in the transportation puzzle here.

Averaging winter and summer traffic volume, he said 20,000 vehicles a day now drive through downtown Kalispell — more during tourist season. In 20 years, when the highway department expects to convert the alternate route to a four-lane road, projections are that it will be carrying an additional 18,000 vehicle trips a day.

Jentz called it a “crisis level,” with Main Street congestion peaked out to the point that traffic is diverting itself three and four blocks out of the way to get through town.

And, it was explained Tuesday, roundabouts along the path of the two-lane route are an interim design. They will be replaced with full interchanges when the four-lane road is built.

The difference between the engineer’s estimate of $16.1 million and Ames Construction’s bid of $12.5 million won’t be spent on another Flathead Valley project, Lynch said.

When American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money became available, the state put in for $236 million on 69 projects. Only $211 million came to Montana.

“The goal is to get all 69 projects through that we put forward to contract,” he said. Any excess will be put toward that goal. “Now we’re confident that we will get to all the projects.”

Work on widening U.S. 2 west of Kalispell is getting under way, giving more lane width just west of the new junction with the U.S. 93 Alternate Route.

Ames Construction won the bid to build the road from U.S. 2 south to Foy’s Lake and then to Airport Road.

To track progress on the alternate route construction, visit www.kalispellbypass.com

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com