Plans for the long-awaited Kalispell bypass took another turn last week when the project’s advisory committee reversed its push to develop sections of the road in their entirety and agreed to consider a scaled-back plan instead.
Rather than the proposed four-lane construction, the Technical Advisory Committee decided to entertain plans for an interim two-lane highway first, with the groundwork set to add two additional lanes later. The committee advises local and state government on area highway issues, and includes several city and county officials.
“This is a quantum shift from where we’ve been before, but I think it’s time to face reality,” Tom Jentz, committee chairman and Kalispell planning director, said. “A two-lane road will meet our needs for a long time and give us a better chance of moving this project forward with the funding we’re looking at.”
The two interim plans the committee focused on would include a two-lane, 40-foot-wide road, two bridges, noise walls, a signal at U.S. Highway 2 and bike bridges and paths. However, the first option, which costs $31.7 million, would reduce bridges to 40 feet and have single-lane roundabouts at Airport Road and Foys Road. The second option would cost $34.9 million, but would use multi-lane roundabouts and full-width bridges.
In any case, work for an interim road would grade and prep the roadway for an eventual two-lane expansion.
Committee members discussed whether removing the bike paths or sound walls could trim costs. They reached a consensus on the sound walls – the noise impact would be too high for homes along the roadway – but didn’t decide on the bike paths, which were estimated to cost about $1 million.
Last week’s meeting was a workshop session so no formal votes were held, but by not objecting to the interim plans the committee tacitly encouraged Stelling Engineers Inc., which is designing the bypass for the state, to continue those planning efforts.
With federal dollars harder to come by and construction costs climbing, committee members debated the financial benefit of two lanes versus four. The two-lane plans are initially cheaper and quicker to build, but if the road was expanded to four lanes later on, the total cost would likely be significantly higher than doing all four at once.
“You can pay it now or pay it later, and it will cost more, overall, to do it later,” Kathy Harris, a Stelling engineer, said.
And there’s not enough money to build it now.
The estimated costs for the entire project – a four-lane bypass and two interchanges – have grown from $100 million to $111.1 million in the last year. With 57 percent of the right-of-way easements on the route purchased and another $10.3 million reserved for more right-of-way acquisition, the project currently has $5.72 million available.
And drumming up the funds to pay for the long-awaited bypass may be more difficult than it once was. In light of the national economic troubles, Jentz said staff at both of the state senators’ offices have encouraged him to pare down the project to make shrinking federal funds more accessible.
As proposed, the bypass would start south of Kalispell near Gardner’s R.V. and Trailer Center, head northwest and follow along the abandoned Burlington Northern Railway line. Curving northward around the outskirts of city, the bypass would eventually meet back up with Highway 93 at West Reserve Drive.
Another small section will loop from Reserve Drive to the Mountain View Plaza-Hutton Ranch Plaza area to help relieve congestion at the busy West Reserve-U.S. 93 intersection. The overall goal of the bypass is to relieve congestion and traffic noise levels through the heart of Kalispell.
“If we scale back now as much as we can, we can provide utility to the public sooner,” Jentz said. “A two-lane road would suit our needs for a long time and give us time and reason to push for funds to expand later.”