The Montana Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting on a corridor study of the North Fork Road from the Camas Road south to the Blankenship Road.

Proponents have long claimed the road should be completely paved in that section because of dust and safety concerns. Proponents also claim it could help Columbia Falls tourism, providing an alternate route to Glacier National Park.

Opponents cite a host of threats from paving, including impacts to threatened and endangered species. They have also questioned the wisdom of paving a road that doesn’t have a destination — it dead ends at the Canadian border, which is closed.

Flathead County Commissioner Jim Dupont said he was sure paving the road will be part of the discussion.

“But I don’t think it will happen,” he said, namely because of funding constraints.

The county has concerns about the road. For one, it’s too wide in places and it needs a better base, Dupont said. The county was able to use federal funds to improve upper sections of the highway.

The county maintains the dirt portion of that section, but how that came about, Dupont said he wasn’t sure, because it is a state secondary highway.

The state will pay for the feasibility study, Dupont said. He said he didn’t know how much the study would cost.

The paving debate has gone on for decades. The nearest that section of road ever came to being paved was when Republican Sen. Conrad Burns was able to secure a $3 million earmark for the road. That was several years ago. The funding, it was later learned, would barely pay for an environmental analysis of the project, which is located wholly within the Flathead National Forest. Burns’ funding was ultimately used to pay for improvements to the Big Mountain Road.

Flathead County and MDT have hired a consultant, Lani Eggertsen-Goff of the New York firm Parsons Brinckerhoff to assist in a study of the corridor, which is expected to complete its study by fall of 2010.

“The purpose of the study is to develop a comprehensive long-range plan for managing the corridor and determine what, if anything, can be done to improve the corridor based on needs, public and agency input, and financial feasibility. The study will be a collaborative process with Flathead County, other agencies, the MDT Missoula District, and the public identifying transportation needs and potential solutions given funding constraints,” MDT said on a Web site explaining the project.

The meeting, with a presentation, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. April 20 at the Columbia Falls City Council Chambers. Doors open at 6 p.m.

For more information visit http://www.mdt.mt.gov/pubinvolve/northfork/