City wins award for streetscape
Whitefish’s recently completed downtown
reconstruction project has been named the best urban project of
2011 by the Montana Contractors’ Association. An award was
presented to the city of Whitefish and the engineering firm, Robert
Peccia and Associates, Jan. 12 at the association’s conference in
Big Sky.
The sometimes controversial, three-year
downtown project included the reconstrction of three blocks of
Central Avenue, four blocks of First and Third streets, and the
addition of a new parking lot at the corner of Second Street and
Spokane Avenue. The reconstruction began in May of 2009, while
planning dates back to the adoption of the Downtown Master Plan
between 2003-06.
New and wider sidewalks were installed
on Central Avenue, intersections were reconfigured with bulb-outs,
landscaping with irrigation was installed, and new street lighting,
benches and bicycle racks were added.
Underground infrastructure was replaced
and some overhead powerlines were placed underground.
The total cost of the project was about
$4.9 million. Eighty-five percent was paid for with Whitefish’s
two-percent resort tax fund, with the remainder paid for with tax
incriment money.
All phases of the project were
completed ahead of schedule and under budget, city manager Chuck
Stearns notes.
Stearns credited contractors
Schellinger Construction Company and Sandry Construction Company.
Other important partners he noted include city council, former city
manager Gary Marks, The Heart of Whitefish, the citizens’ Downtown
Infrastructure Improvements Committee, city staff, all of the
affected downtown merchants who bore the brunt of the construction
impacts and consultants George Crandall and Don Arambula.
“This award is a testament to the
collaborative planning and construction efforts of all the
aforementioned parties,” Stearns said.