Kalispell failed to nab a state grant to help fund construction of a raised shared-use path that would connect downtown with Logan Health Medical Center.  

City Council in April voted to apply for funding to replace the dirt path forged by pedestrians alongside the stretch of U.S. 93 that also goes by Sunset Boulevard with a paved walkway between Wyoming Street and Mission Street. 

The city considers the path unsafe and impractical due to cars along the heavily trafficked route regularly turning onto the many access points that intersect where people walk.   

City Hall asked for $668,421 through the Montana Department of Transportation’s Transportation Alternatives program, a competitive program intended to fund smaller-scale projects for pedestrians and bicyclists. The entire project was expected to cost around $772,000, according to the city’s application.  

City Manager Jarod Nygren blamed the unsuccessful request on a competitive applicant pool and intends to reapply for the next round of funding. He called the path an integral component to connect downtown.   

Upgrading the walkway is part of a larger project to build out the shared-use path further north to Bountiful Drive. The entire project, though, would cost around $2.68 million, so the city plans to apply for another grant to fund the northern portion of the project.  

The city has successfully applied through the state program in the past. A new path beside the Kidsports Complex along Four Mile Drive was installed this year, connecting the existing sidewalk at Foxglove Drive to another path at Champion Way. 

Nearly 90% of the funding for the roughly $1.3 million project came from the Transportation Alternatives program. The funds were awarded to Kalispell in September 2023 but weren’t allocated by the Montana Department of Transportation until March 2025.  

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