An ongoing effort to construct sidewalks in Evergreen has earned nearly $1 million in federal money to fund the second phase of the project.

“I think this all around is a big win for both the students and the average person in Evergreen,” said Rep. Tony Brockman, R-Kalispell, who has spearheaded the effort to secure funding in the state Legislature this year.

Ranking it as the top transportation alternative project of the year, the state Department of Transportation recently awarded the unincorporated community $999,655 in federal funding.

For years, children unable to find a ride to school have had to walk or bike along U.S. 2 since Evergreen School District does not qualify for state funding for a bus system because the district is too physically small.

The highway routinely sees 20,000 vehicles a day in its four lanes in front of the junior high school, according to the state Department of Transportation's 2021 Annual Average Daily Traffic Data.

The money will fund the construction of sidewalks along the highway from the intersection of Meadowlark Drive to the intersection of Terry Road, and then from the intersection of East Evergreen Drive to the intersection of Poplar Road.

The second phase of the project was also a part of House Bill 5, which passed the Montana Legislature this session, where $1 million was set aside for the project in case the federal money didn’t go through.

The request for money was originally brought to the Legislature as an independent bill by Brockman, which ultimately got tabled — House Bill 472. Brockman then introduced House Bill 853, which asked for sidewalk funding for multiple communities. Legislators tabled that bill on the House Floor in April.

Brockman then brought the request to Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte and the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Long-Range Planning, where it was decided that the Evergreen project would be tied into a larger infrastructure effort — HB 5.

In light of the funding from the state transportation department, the money from HB5 will now return to the general fund.

“[House Bill 5] was our insurance policy to ensure that we were actually going to get money since there was no assurance that we’d get the grant money from MDT,” said Daren Engellant, a member of the Evergreen Community Partners, who have been working to address the sidewalk issue since 2005.

“We breathed a sigh of relief knowing that we were actually going to get sidewalks,” Engellant said. “Then, it turns out we are the No. 1 project granted too.”

The partners, in cooperation with the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce, landed a $1 million grant from the Department of Transportation in September 2021 to create sidewalks from the former Kmart building to Evergreen Junior High School — what supporters refer to as the first phase of the overall project.

Dave Holien, a transportation alternatives engineer at the state transportation agency, said projects are ranked based on their ability to increase connectivity and safety.

“A large part of the [transportation alternatives] program is providing safe routes for kids to get back and forth to school,” said Holien. “That's really the reason the project got selected.”

The Evergreen project, he noted, had very visible safety benefits.

“It’s a great project,” Holien said.

The Evergreen School District was the applicant for the project and companies will begin bidding on the project come winter.

Organizers hope to have the first phase finished by the start of school in fall 2024 and the second phase by fall 2025.

“Every time I see a student walking along the shoulder of the road very close to the highway or on the highway itself, it concerns me for his or her safety,” said Laurie Barron, the district’s superintendent, in an email. “I am confident that sidewalks will have a significant impact on improving safe routes to school and thus overall safety for our students.”

Supporters of the creation of sidewalks in Evergreen see this as a win and are excited to break ground come 2024.

“This has been a long journey for our community, but our kiddos and community members will have their sidewalks,” said Connie McCubbins, the executive director of the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce. “Thank you to everyone who was involved in this project, especially the people of Evergreen whose encouragement and support kept the project alive.”

Reporter Kate Heston can be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.