The Daily Inter Lake

Drivers will be able to use the southern portion of the long-awaited U.S. 93 Alternate Route beginning Nov. 17, according to Montana Department of Transportation Director Jim Lynch.

Lynch said final preparations are being made ahead of the planned opening, which will provide a bypass for motorists between U.S. 93 South near Gardner’s Auction and U.S. 2 West in Kalispell.

Workers still are striping the roadway, installing guardrails, landscaping and putting up signs, but Lynch said that work is expected to be completed in time for the Nov. 17 opening.

The interim speed limit on the bypass will be 50 miles per hour until a traffic study is complete and a final limit is determined, he said.

“We had a very aggressive time period to finish this thing and I think ... the contractors put the necessary time into the project to get it opened,” Lynch said.

Ames Construction of Utah built the $13.6 million north-end portion stretching 1.54 miles between U.S. 2 West and Airport Road.

Knife River Kalispell built the $9 million, 1.5-mile south-end stretch between Airport Road and U.S. 93 South.

Though the opening of the roadway is a landmark moment for the project, the Department of Transportation now will turn its attention to the northern portion of the alternate route.

Lynch said the next highway goal will be to complete a connector road that will run behind Hutton Ranch Plaza and Mountain View Plaza shopping centers, linking Hutton Ranch Road with West Reserve Drive.

There currently is no target date for the completion of the connector road, which would allow motorists to bypass the busy U.S. 93/West Reserve Drive intersection.

After that, Lynch explained, the northern extension of U.S. 93 Alternate Route will be completed in phases, possibly starting with the stretch from U.S. 2 West to Three Mile Road, then from Three Mile Road to Reserve Loop and from there to U.S. 93 North.

Lynch said the state has eight parcels of land left to purchase and is actively negotiating with landowners. He said there is no target date for the final completion of the U.S. 93 bypass.

“That’s just going to depend on the funding and how the funding comes in,” Lynch said.