County says it won't pave North Fork Road

A recently completed study of improvements for the North Fork Road doesn’t embrace any one concept for fixing the dusty highway.

Instead, the study puts the future of the road back into the county’s lap, where the problematic highway has sat in limbo for decades. This study, commissioned by Flathead County and the state Department of Transportation, employed the Murray, Utah firm of PB Americas Inc. to look at the possibility of paving a nine-mile section of the highway from just north of Glacier Rim to Glacier National Park’s Camas Road.

The study came up with a variety of alternatives, from paving the road, which would cost $5.2 million to more than $15.2 million, to dust mitigation measures, which would cost $78,000 to as much as $461,000 annually.

The paving estimates did not include the cost to haul material to the site.

The road has long been the subject of debate and the study, which cost $125,000, didn’t clear things up much.

“The public perspective gained through public involvement efforts found no consensus based on the comments received,” the study noted. “This resulted in no single option or group of improvement options emerging as a recommended priority for this corridor.”

One thing most folks agreed upon was that the road was dusty in the summertime. But most government funding sources don’t allow funds for dust abatement, because it’s considered maintenance, the study said.

The study did suggest revenue sources, including forming a rural improvement district which would be paid by local landowners, a toll and or tax for travelers, a fee to use parking lots along the river or cost sharing between the Flathead National Forest and the county.

That section of highway is almost entirely surrounded by public land. Glacier National Park is across the river to the east and the Flathead National Forest surrounds the road itself, save for the land of a few private landowners at the very southern end.

Ultimately, a solution, if there is one, is up to Flathead County, the study concluded.

“The next steps for management and/or improvements to this segment of roadway will be determined by Flathead County,” the study suggests. “This study provides a diverse list of improvement options and management strategies that may be considered. If any option demonstrates public buy-in, is selected and funding is prioritized for that option, a project implementation process would begin, including any required environmental process.”

At the candidate forum Sept. 23 at Glacier Discovery Square, County Commissioner Joe Brenneman laid out the county’s perspective on the North Fork Road.

“There are 50 miles of road ahead of the North Fork Road (that need paving),” he said. “From the Flathead County perspective, it makes no fiscal sense. Many more people benefit from other paving projects. The county is not going to be doing it.”

County commissioner Jim Dupont said the lower end of the road won’t likely see much improvement.

“We have to grade it and maintain it,” he said Monday. “I don’t think much more will get done on the lower end.”