All but one entrance road to Glacier High School will be closed from Feb. 29 through March 12 as a safety precaution during a heavy-hauling phase of construction on the U.S. 93 bypass.

For 10 days, transport trucks will haul 500 loads of pit-run gravel — roughly 50 tons per truckload — daily between LHC on Stillwater Road and the bypass construction site. The trucks will load at LHC, travel east in a single lane on West Reserve and Old Reserve Drive and then turn into the construction site.

Glacier High School administrators have worked with the Montana Department of Transportation to create a modified traffic plan to and from the school.

Reserve will only have one lane open to eastbound traffic.

The only accessible entrance to the school will be from Stillwater Road on the west side. The intersection at Stillwater Road near Flathead National Forest offices will be controlled by a traffic signal. Only emergency vehicles will be able to continue using the other two entrances on the north and east sides of the high school.

What will most likely impact students and visitors is that the eastern end of Wolfpack Way will be closed to inbound and outbound traffic.

The closures are a return to the original traffic pattern when Glacier first opened.

“When Glacier opened we didn’t have Wolfpack Way,” Glacier Principal Callie Langohr said. “We’re confident we can do this.”

The modified traffic plan is to prevent vehicles from merging or crossing in front of trucks. The school sent an email outlining the changes and emphasized safety:

“Safety of our students and staff takes priority over a little inconvenience. An error in judgment by a member of the Wolfpack community could potentially have a bad outcome. Trying to match wits with a truck carrying 50 tons of rock isn’t a good bet, so we are taking measures to minimize any potential issues.”

Langohr said the school wanted to send out the information early so that people will plan accordingly. She hopes that people will consider transportation alternatives such as car pooling, taking the bus or leaving early to minimize a rush of traffic.

“We have hundreds and hundreds of cars out there [in the school parking lots] on an average school day. We also have a lot of people that drop off students and leave,” Langohr said. “It’s hard to determine the quantity of vehicles, but it’s enough and we’re not wanting to take a chance on safety.”

The importance of traffic safety around the high school is evidenced by the roundabout at the intersection of West Reserve Drive and Stillwater Road dedicated to Allison Fifield.

Fifield, who was a 16-year-old Flathead High School student, died in 2005 after a dump truck failed to stop at the intersection and smashed into her car. That intersection was later turned into the roundabout.

When asked if the deadly accident factored into the school’s decision Langohr gave a solemn “yes.”

“I was principal at Flathead at the time and I certainly will never forget that,” Langohr said.

The high school plans to provide regular updates on the traffic plan.

“We sincerely appreciate everyone’s help and understanding with this,” Langohr said. “We want to be very proactive.”

Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or [email protected].