The Montana Department of Transportation has published the final U.S. Highway 93 Polson to Somers Corridor Study and Access Management Plan, which includes a 70-page appendix compiled from public comments. 

As a part of this study, MDT provided opportunities for public and stakeholders' engagement, including public and tribal outreach. MDT allowed the public to submit comments by email, mail, at public meetings and online through an interactive map.  

The purpose of this study was to develop a long-range plan to manage the corridor and determine what improvements can be made. This is a collaborative process involving MDT, the Federal Highway Administration, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, local jurisdictions, resource agencies, and the public to identify needs and potential transportation solutions.  

Many of the short-format comments focused on several concerns, including requests for lower speed limits, turn lanes, pull outs, wider shoulders, additional lanes and wildlife crossings.  Several comments urge MDT to fix these issues quickly to save lives, decrease accidents and overall improve commute time.  

A number of citizens who have lived in the area for their entire lives explained that the population, development and traffic have drastically increased over the last four to five years.  

“Over the course of the most recent 10 years, the population in the Flathead Lake Valley has dramatically increased, especially in the summer after the COVID lockdowns and migration from the west coast. This includes many more residential and commercial accesses to U.S. Route 93,” Rollins residents Jack and Stephanie Venrick, stated in the study comments.  

With many driveways having direct access to Highway 93, locals asked MDT to decline more developments or more driveways due to unsafe access when exiting or entering the highway. These residents cited delays, car accidents and high-speed limits as reasons the current access is unsafe.  

Numerous people requested a 45-55 mph speed limit in many places in the corridor area. Comments indicated that a decreased speed limit may help during “no left-turn season” on the highway.  

“Lowering the speed limit to 45 mph would contribute significantly to reducing accidents, mitigating injuries, and potentially saving lives,” Stephen Yakupcin commented on the study. “I urge you to consider this proposal seriously and take the necessary steps to protect all who travel along this stretch of Highway 93.”  

The public also urged MDT to increase the number of Montana Highway Patrol officers to limit speeding vehicles. MDT’s response explained that they continually work with law enforcement officials, but state law enforcement operations and personnel are funded by the Montana Department of Justice, which is separate from federal and state funds used for MDT. They also do not have jurisdiction to direct DOJ spending or staffing.  

People also had a number of complaints regarding speeding by out-of-state drivers, traffic noise and increased accidents.  

Numerous concerns were raised about safety in the Lakeside area. With increased developments there, many homeowners asked MDT to add additional crossing signage, bike paths and lower speed limits.  

“I have lived along this highway my entire life, 78 years, and have been driving since 1962. I believe that the area from two miles south of Lakeside to the intersection with highway 82 should have continuous left-turn lanes and right turn lanes at every side road access, which would greatly improve traffic safety,” Bernie Olson stated in the study comments.  

“I have witnessed a number of rear-end collisions over the years and with the huge increase of traffic in the past few years the situation becomes ever more dangerous,” Olson said.  

The study has recommended extending the existing two-way left-turn lanes in Lakeside and Somers.  

Residents expressed frustration with engine compression braking noise, but MDT responded by citing Montana State Law that allows engine compression brakes on commercial vehicles as long as they are equipped with good working mufflers.  

Due to commercial vehicles and RV traffic through the corridor, many residents also asked for truck lanes throughout the study area.  

MDT also held meetings with the CSKT Tribal Council and the Kootenai Elders to ensure their concerns and comments were considered in the study.  

Tribal Council notified MDT that a new gas and convenience store will be built in the Elmo area, and they further requested MDT to add more signage due to increased speeding in the summer.  

The Kootenai Elders expressed that cultural sensitivity was a top concern and should be at the forefront of the study because the corridor carries immense cultural significance to CSKT. This corridor is where CSKT ancestors traveled along the shore hundreds of years ago, and the elders noted that more interpretive signage would be a good way to communicate the importance of the land.  

The Kootenai Elders also asked for a land swap to obtain the gravel storage area near Rollins. However, MDT explained that this was not an option because the storage location is a critical facility that serves the Rollins, Polson and Hot Springs areas.  

A number of citizens asked that the study area be expanded to include Jette Hill or start at the Polson bridge to include improvements in those areas and dangerous intersections. Currently the study area starts at mile marker 65, just past Baypoint Road.   

“The study area should start at the Polson bridge, so it incorporates the intersections with shoreline route, fairgrounds road, Irvine Flats Road, The Horseshoe and Rocky Point Road – all of which create substantial traffic and dangerous intersections,” Don Peterson commented on the interactive map under issues and concerns on Sept. 10, 2024. “A traffic control device such as a light or roundabout is needed for the Horseshoe, Irvine Flats and the proposed CSKT casino.”  

Another Polson resident, Randy Holm, commented on this map, asking why the study does not include mile markers 62 or 63. Holm cited Rocky Point and Irvine Flats as the most dangerous stretches of Highway 93 near Polson.  

“These intersections need traffic management of some sort: turn lanes, reduced speed, traffic lights or roundabouts, etc,” Holm stated on the map comments.  

The study evaluated existing conditions, projected growth, traffic operations and safety and environmental impacts. The plan recommended short- and long-term needs for the corridor, which include three types of improvements.  

The first is spot improvements to help safety, traffic flow and access, and the second is widening the corridor, which includes striping, rumble strips, limit adjustments, passing lanes, shoulder widening and wildlife conflict mitigation. The third is policy improvements aimed at improving safety operations through access management.  

Joel Boucher, the MDT Missoula district project development engineer, said the study results will help MDT "determine what projects are going to be deliverable in the short term and long term. And we'll find projects based off of that.”  

MDT has three pages of improvement options on the corridor study document, which details the long- and short-term projects in certain areas of the study. Links can be found at https://www.mdt.mt.gov/pubinvolve/us93polsonsomers/documents.aspx. 

Boucher said MDT will have a meeting in the next couple of months to prioritize some projects and see what they can get done and when. However, he explained that funding is a big component and that the department’s highway needs exceed its funding.      In the Polson to Somers Corridor many intersections like Melita Island Road have a side speed limit with some limited visibility. Exiting and entering the highway with a high speed limit in place was cited as unsafe by many residents who made public comments. (Emily Messer/Leader) 

    MDT’s crashes per mile analysis map, which was included in the Highway 93 Polson to Somers Corridor Study Access Management Plan. (graphic courtesy of MDT)