The receipt of a $500,000 grant by Whitefish Legacy Partners is expected to result in a big increase in traffic on Lion Mountain Loop Road, Flathead County’s public works director told county commissioners last week.

Dave Prunty briefed commissioners on a recent conversation he and Flathead County Road and Bridge Supervisor Ovila Byrd had with Bic Smith and other members of a homeowners association who regularly travel on Lion Mountain Loop Road to get to their homes and trail advocates.

Residents along that road have some concerns about dust and the low number of signs on the gravel road, Prunty said.

The residents already have paid an engineer to conduct a small-scale study about using millings as a dust abatement, Prunty said. The road is about a half-mile long, he said.

Prunty proposed the county consider entering some agreement with the homeowners to share the cost of some improvements to the road. He suggested the county pay for the gravel work and possibly replace some of the old culverts. The homeowners would pay for asphalt millings. The county would oversee the road project. Millings are made from crushed and recycled asphalt.

The initial conversation between Prunty, Byrd, Smith and other homeowners focused on a road built with a base of 2 to 3 inches of millings, sprayed with reclamite, another 2 to 3 inches of millings added and a second spraying of reclamite. “You’ve got a road then,” Prunty said.

If a chip-seal was added, it would increase the cost by about $15,000, Prunty said. Adding a chip-seal component to the plan wasn’t discussed with property owners, he said.

Improving the road is a good idea, Prunty said. “That road will get a heck of a lot more use because of the trail system.”

Lion Mountain Loop Road is a through road that connects with U.S. 93.

The cost-share program is a unique idea, County Administrative Officer Mike Pence said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea.”

Commissioner Pam Holmquist expressed some worry about setting a precedent in which other county residents would ask for gravel or other road materials.

Prunty acknowledged that could happen. But a key difference in this situation, he said, is the near-certainty that traffic will increase on Lion Mountain Loop Road as people travel to use the trail system.

“We are trying to cut down our dust problem,” Commission Chairman Jim Dupont said. “That road will be a problem. We could get away with not spending much money and reducing dust. If we cost-share this, it could be a good deal.”

Commissioners directed Prunty to meet with homeowners again to discuss the scope of the project and to obtain a cost estimate and bring that information back at a later meeting.

The $500,000 grant came from the recreation trails program of the State Parks Recreation Bureau. It was awarded to Whitefish Legacy Partners, an organization which is helping shape the future of 13,000 acres of state trust lands around Whitefish.

The group’s goal is to build a 55-mile loop trail around Whitefish Lake. About a dozen miles of single-track trail have been developed on Spencer Lake and Lion Mountain that now link state, federal and private lands.

Reporter Shelley Ridenour may be reached at 758-4439 or by e-mail at sridenour@dailyinterlake.com.