Choose, but choose wisely.

That’s the message as Kalispell works to pick the next major road project for its share of slowly accumulating federal urban highway money. And it will be years — maybe decades — before the city gets to choose again.

Kalispell’s Technical Advisory Committee, led by Planning Director Tom Jentz, met recently to whittle a list of 15 priority road projects in the city’s transportation plan down to a manageable handful.

Projects selected for more study and consideration:

n Improve West Reserve Drive to handle more traffic between U.S 93 and Whitefish Stage Road and improve the intersection at Whitefish Stage Road to reduce congestion there.

n Improve Whitefish Stage Road from East Idaho Street to West Reserve Drive to handle more traffic and improve visibility and safety.

n Extend Grandview Drive east to Whitefish Stage Road along an existing 60-foot-wide easement to create a new east-west connection.

n Improve Willow Glen Drive to handle more traffic and build a LaSalle extension from Conrad Drive to U.S. 2 to function as an alternate route on Kalispell’s east side.

The Montana Department of Transportation has money to focus on preliminary design and engineering for Kalispell’s next major road project, once one is selected.

But the chosen project could take seven to 10 years to build as funding accrues.

“All of the projects are worthy in some form, but we’re talking about what the next segment should be, what’s most critical,” Jentz said of the four or five projects selected for more review and the tens of millions of dollars of targeted but unfunded roadwork identified in Kalispell’s transportation plan.

With the list of projects narrowed down, state and city officials will start examining traffic counts, pavement conditions and levels of service.

They also will discuss projects with neighboring land and business owners who would be affected, particularly for the Grandview Drive extension and the LaSalle extension, to see if land or right-of-way acquisitions would pose major roadblocks.

“We need to put together the justification for each one, the pros and cons, so the [Technical Advisory Committee] can take another look at them,” Jentz said.

A priority project could be selected this winter or next spring.

Kalispell’s Technical Advisory Committee also reviewed an updated Kalispell Urban Area Boundary Map that must be approved this winter by state and federal highway commissions.

The boundary includes all of the city limits and adjacent suburbs identified as census-designated areas with urban densities.

Kalispell is one of 16 urban areas in Montana that’s being reviewed and adjusted after the 2010 census, and roads must fall within the boundary to be eligible for the federal funds.

Kalispell’s boundary has grown significantly since the last review in 2002 and now includes West Reserve Drive, Whitefish Stage Road and Willow Glen Drive, making them eligible.

Federal funding is apportioned based on population, and Kalispell’s proposed boundary now includes about 31,000 people.

Jentz said he hopes to see funding levels stay the same, at about $600,000 a year. But a number of urban areas in the state have grown significantly.

Jentz, who has involved with Kalispell planning for 28 years, has seen just two projects completed in that time: a reconstruction of Main Street in 1984 and a reconstruction of North Meridian Road in 2006 and 2007.

Kalispell had to borrow against future funding allocations to pay for the North Meridian Road project. The city started accruing funds again in 2010 and now has about $1 million saved up.

“We’ve had two projects funded in 28 years. So yeah, it’s kind of exciting to pick one, but then you’ve got to wait. It takes so long for the money to build,” Jentz said.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.