The long-awaited West Reserve Drive expansion project, aimed at curbing increased traffic along the thoroughfare, began last month.

The project will see the road widened between Hutton Ranch Road and Whitefish Stage Road from three to five lanes along with a center turn lane and shared-use path. The intersections with Hutton Ranch Road and Whitefish Stage Road will also receive dedicated turn lanes, new traffic signals and concrete surfacing. 

Columbia Falls-based contractor Schellinger Construction is leading the project. Drivers and pedestrians can take to the newly widened thoroughfare by November 2025, according to the Montana Department of Transportation.  

The project’s west end, near U.S. 93 North, is undergoing concrete road work, and curb, gutter and sidewalk upgrades that will continue for the next two to three weeks, according to an Oct. 14 update from the state transportation agency. 

It was there that Gov. Greg Gianforte held a press conference on Tuesday morning touting the Securing Access to Federal Expenditures to Repair Montana Roads and Bridges Act, also known as the SAFER Act, which is helping fund the multimillion-dollar project.  

Gianforte spoke alongside state Rep. Courtenay Sprunger, R-Kalispell, who sponsored the bill during the 2023 legislative session.  

“I am proud to say that West Reserve Drive is one of the first projects in the state to receive SAFER funds,” Sprunger said Oct. 22. 

The act created a $100 million pool from Montana’s general fund surplus to provide the state with matching dollars for federal funds for road and bridge projects.  

“For a long time, a lot of federal dollars were left on the sidelines because the state didn’t have a matching fund account,” Gianforte told the Inter Lake. “This allows us to tap these federal dollars on a nine to one ratio.” 

For every dollar coming from state funds to pay for infrastructure projects, there is up to $9 in federal funding. Gianforte said that ratio could fluctuate in the future.   

The state Department of Transportation diverted $1.44 million from the SAFER Fund toward the West Reserve Drive construction to match federal dollars, according to Gianforte’s office.  

Kalispell secured a total of $50 million from the federal Rural Surface Transportation Grant and U.S. Department of Transportation Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant in 2022 and 2023.  

“The SAFER Act has been a welcome supplement to federal funding by providing much needed matching plans to take some pressure off existing state revenue sources, such as the gas tax,” said Larry Flynn, deputy director of the state Department of Transportation. 

Flynn said the agency and its local partners are using the state match grant to apply for nearly $500 million in federal discretionary funds, “of which we have been awarded almost $235 million, and are still in the running for another $244 million.”  

"Growing up here, I remember West Reserve Drive just passed through a lot of farm fields. It was a little more than a back road on the north end of town.” Sprunger said, noting the development that has led to the road becoming a major collector. “It’s about ensuring that Kalispell flourishes, and we avoid the blights of other fast-growing communities.”   

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at [email protected] and 758-4407.  

    Gov. Greg Gianforte speaks during a press conference highlighting infrastructure investments with Sen. John Fuller, Rep. Braxton Mitchell and Sen. Mark Noland at the Reserve Drive road construction project on Tuesday, Oct. 22. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Rep. Courtenay Sprunger speaks during a press conference highlighting infrastructure investments with, from left, Montana Department of Transportation Deputy Director Larry Flynn, Gov. Greg Gianforte, Sen. John Fuller, Rep. Braxton Mitchell and Sen. Mark Noland at the Reserve Drive road construction project on Tuesday, Oct. 22. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Rep. Courtenay Sprunger speaks during a press conference highlighting infrastructure investments with Gov. Greg Gianforte and Montana Department of Transportation Deputy Director Larry Flynn at the Reserve Drive road construction project on Tuesday, Oct. 22. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Montana Department of Transportation Deputy Director Larry Flynn speaks during a press conference highlighting infrastructure investments with Gov. Greg Gianforte and Rep. Courtenay Sprunger at the Reserve Drive road construction project on Tuesday, Oct. 22. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider