Safety concerns prompt potential road rebuild
Safety concerns on Old Reserve Drive are driving a proposal to rebuild a section of the road near Kalispell.
The Montana Department of Transportation has scheduled an open house on Wednesday, May 30 to discuss the plan to rebuild about three miles of Secondary Route 548 (Old Reserve Drive), northwest of Kalispell.
The meeting will be held in Kalispell from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Stillwater Grange No. 107 located at 1370 Old Reserve Drive. Project team members will be available during the open house to discuss the proposed project.
The purpose of the project, targeted to begin in 2021, is to provide a safer roadway and to provide a shared-use path for pedestrians and bicycles that will help provide safe travel between West Valley School and Glacier High School.
According to Ed Toves, administrator of the Montana Department of Transportation’s Missoula District, Flathead County Commissioners recommended it because of the narrow lanes and virtually non-existent shoulders.
“The road is 21 feet wide, which means the lanes are only 10 feet each with 6-inch shoulders, so the work will improve the vertical and horizontal sightlines, the shoulder width and improve safety,” Toves said.
Department of Transportation crash data from Jan. 1, 2004 to Dec. 31, 2013 showed there were 60 vehicle crashes in the 3-mile stretch with two fatalities and 26 injuries.
Toves also explained that a residential development in the area has resulted in greater traffic volume.
“There are about 5,000 cars using that stretch every day and that’s a very high volume for a secondary road in Montana,” he said.
The project will begin at the intersection with Secondary Route 424 (Farm to Market Road) and extend east for three miles, ending at the roundabout at Stillwater Road.
Proposed work includes roadway realignments, surface widening, the shared-use path on the south side of the highway, and finishing with a seal and cover (chip seal), new pavement markings and signage.
Toves said the department has been working with private landowners in the area about acquiring property so the project can move forward.
“We’ve visited with and heard from a few property owners about it already,” Toves said. “We’ve been trying to be more proactive as far as property acquisition. It’s definitely a project we’re excited about and want to see it to completion.”
The public can expect single-lane closures in the project area during working hours. More information regarding closures will be made available prior to the beginning of construction.
New right-of-way and relocation of utilities will be required.
MDT staff will contact all potentially affected landowners prior to performing survey work on their land. Staff will again contact landowners prior to construction regarding property acquisition and temporary construction permits.
For more information, please contact Missoula District Administrator Ed Toavs at (406) 523-5802 or Project Design Engineer Ben Nunnallee at (406) 523 5846.
Also, visit the project website at: www.mdt.mt.gov/pubinvolve/oldreserve.
Members of the public may submit written comments at the meeting or to the Montana Department of Transportation Missoula office at P.O. Box 7039, Missoula, MT 59807-7039, or online at the project website noted above.
Please note that comments are for project UPN 8134000 and submit by June 30 to ensure your comments are considered.
Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.