City plans redo of key intersection

Kalispell city officials are looking at restructuring a couple of intersections near where U.S. 93 and Airport Road meet to improve traffic circulation in the corridor from the south end of the city to downtown.

The city hopes to better facilitate increased traffic from the rapidly developing area.

The epicenter of the changes is just a few blocks south of the Flathead County Courthouse, directly in front of Withey’s Health Foods and The Montana Club. The underperforming intersections the city hopes to improve include where 18th Street East and U.S. 93 meet Airport Road. Documents detailing the possible changes were recently sent out to property owners in the immediate vicinity.

The city has hired the engineering firm WGM Group to identify different options to alleviate traffic flow through that part of town. The options have been narrowed to four, and now the city is seeking public comment to help decide. Two of the options include roundabouts, which the Montana Department of Transportation mandates the city consider when redoing intersections.

One option includes adding a four-way stop to the intersection of 18th Street and Airport Road, adding a traffic light to the intersection of U.S. 93 and Airport Road and keeping the configuration of that intersection the way it is.

Another option includes moving the portion of 18th Street nearest Airport Road so that it intersects slightly to north and reconfiguring the intersection of U.S. 93 and Airport Road to be more efficient and installing a traffic light.

A third option is to raise the median and add a left-turn lane to the intersection of 18th Street and Airport Road, then add a new street connection near there between Airport Road and First Avenue West. It also includes turning the intersection of U.S. 93 and Airport Road into a double-lane roundabout and adding a new street connection at that point jutting out to First Avenue West.

A final option involves reconfiguring the intersection of 18th Street and Airport Road slightly and adding either a four-way stop or single-lane roundabout. It would leave the current intersection of U.S. 93 and Airport Road untouched but would add a street connection between U.S. 93 and Airport Road just south of that point where First Avenue East hits U.S. 93. It would also include adding a traffic light above the intersection.

Residents interested in learning more about the plans or expressing an opinion in favor of one of the four options can stop by the planning department in City Hall during business hours, sending an email to planning@kalispell.com, call (406) 758-7940 or send a letter to the Kalispell Planning Department at P.O. Box 1997, Kalispell, MT 59903.

The city will incorporate public input over the next few weeks and then schedule a series of community meetings to show a refined version of the options.

Reporter Peregrine Frissell can be reached at (406) 758-4438 or pfrissell@dailyinterlake.com.