Tuesday, July 08, 2025
84.0°F

Road work ahead on two major highways

LYNNETTE HINTZE | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 years AGO
by LYNNETTE HINTZE
Daily Inter Lake | June 25, 2014 9:06 AM

Drivers will need extra time and patience this summer as they navigate roads in the Flathead Valley.

Two of the key reconstruction projects are on major highways on the county’s west side that funnel traffic in and out of Kalispell and Whitefish.

Work is underway on the Montana Department of Transportation’s Kalispell West project, a $5.2 million rebuild of U.S. 2 West that includes two bridge replacements. LHC is the general contractor for the project.

Just over one mile of U.S. 2 will be rebuilt to 56 feet, with two 12-foot travel lanes, a broader shoulder and a turn lane, said Bob Vosen, district construction engineer for the Missoula District.

The construction zone — between mile markers 113 and 115 — is posted at 35 mph and drivers should expect flaggers to direct traffic. Traffic will be reduced to one lane at various intervals during the construction, Vosen said.

“There are two bridges over Ashley Creek that are a half-mile apart. We’ll be replacing both of those,” Vosen said.

The bridge work will affect users of the Great Northern Historical Trail for bicyclists and pedestrians. Vosen said members of the trail group attended a pre-construction meeting last week.

The trail bridge farthest east will be removed because the footprint of that new roadway bridge is much wider, “so we’ll move the pedestrian trail onto the new highway bridge,” Vosen said.

“What that means is that for a good portion of the summer there won’t be [trail] access across Ashley Creek on the eastern bridge,” he said. “The trail will end at the highway construction instead of going all the way to Smith Lake.”

The other major summer project affecting westside traffic is the $10.3 million rebuild of U.S. 93 from Karrow Avenue to Mountainside Drive in the Lion Mountain area. Schellinger Construction is the general contractor.

It’s the second phase of U.S. 93 reconstruction in that area. Road work should begin next week, Vosen said.

A third phase of the Whitefish West project for U.S. 93 will be completed west to mile marker 133 in the Spencer Lake area within the next couple of years.

Traffic in Whitefish also is being impacted this summer by the reconstruction of East Second Street from Larch Avenue to Edgewood Drive. Revenue from Whitefish’s 2 percent resort tax is paying for the $2 million rebuild that will continue into the fall; Knife River is the general contractor.

Travel along East Second from Armory Road to Dodger Lane is limited to local one-way traffic only.

Pedestrians and bicyclists are required to use another route around the East Second Street construction zone, according to an advisory from Whitefish City Hall.

The Hugh Rogers Dog Park, Dave Olseth Memorial Skate Park and Armory Park complex will remain open during the course of the East Second rebuild.

Other road projects that will impact traffic include a storm-drain project later this summer on U.S. 2 through Evergreen and overlay work on First Avenue East and First Avenue West in Kalispell.

Vosen said there is one contractor for the First Avenue projects, which “doesn’t preclude [crews] from working on both avenues at the same time.

“Likely they’ll chip one one day and the other the next,” he said.

Construction is currently underway on Three Mile Drive near Kalispell where a bridge is being built over the future route of the U.S. 93 bypass. A detour is in place, so “traffic is not being impacted a whole lot,” Vosen said.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.

 

MORE IMPORTED STORIES

Local road work wrapping up in Kalispell area
Daily Inter-Lake | Updated 10 years, 7 months ago
Major highway reconstruction project begins
Hungry Horse News | Updated 12 years, 2 months ago
Work could affect key junction for a month
Daily Inter-Lake | Updated 12 years, 2 months ago

ARTICLES BY LYNNETTE HINTZE

January 2, 2022 11 p.m.

Subdivision proposed near Grouse Mountain soccer fields

Development is front and center as the Whitefish City Council starts the new year by considering a 20-lot residential subdivision next to the Grouse Mountain soccer fields on Fairway Drive.

December 29, 2021 11 p.m.

Opposition voiced over rural Bigfork vacation rental proposal

The Flathead County Board of Adjustment will start the new year on Jan. 4 by weighing in on a request for short-term rental housing in Bigfork that has drawn opposition from neighbors.

County poised to complete building projects in 2022
December 27, 2021 11 p.m.

County poised to complete building projects in 2022

911 backup center added to North Building lineup

Flathead County will see a number of building and remodeling projects come to fruition in 2022, including the renovation of the former CenturyLink building that will house several county departments and a new 911 backup center.