SOMERS – At a public meeting following the October crash of a tractor-trailer along the east shore of Flathead Lake, Montana Department of Transportation Director Jim Lynch told the audience a community effort to increase safe driving along Highway 35 would ultimately be more effective than attempts to restrict truck traffic along the roadway.
The forum, held at the Best Western Grand Oak Hotel, was a chance for public dialogue after a truck carrying wood chips veered off the road near Finley Point Oct. 20, crashing and injuring the driver. This most recent crash stoked the concerns of east shore residents, occurring about a year-and-a-half after a truck crash in nearly the same spot dumped 6,400 gallons of gasoline, forcing five families out of their homes and costing millions to clean up.
Two other trucks have crashed in the area over the last several years, each time underscoring the complaints of many east shore residents that MT 35 is simply too narrow, residential and close to Flathead Lake to allow such heavy freight. The trucking industry, however, has long argued that the east shore route from Polson to the cities of the Flathead is shorter and flatter than taking U.S. Highway 93 along the west shore, saving fuel and time.
It’s a decades-old debate, and at the meeting, attended by more than 100 residents, Lynch said Montana and his department could do little to restrict what types of trucks travel along MT 35, which became part of a federal network of roadways in 1982.
“In Montana state statute, there is not a lot that says what MDT can do,” Lynch said. “That doesn’t give us a lot of options to decide one way or the other what we can do on that roadway.”
“We may not get what we want, but maybe we can come up with a direction to go so that we don’t have accidents,” Lynch added.
In a presentation, Lynch demonstrated that the number of crashes involving passenger vehicles dwarfed that of commercial trucks, and showing that crashes along MT 35 aren’t increasing. In 2008, for example, 52 vehicles crashed between Polson and Bigfork on MT 35, compared to three truck crashes. Along the west shore during the same year, there were 93 vehicle crashes and three truck crashes. The highest number of truck crashes to occur along the east shore in recent years was 2004, when seven truck accidents occurred, compared to 62 involving passenger vehicles.
Lynch also described the actions taken by the MDT following earlier meetings to look at various safety concerns on MT 35, which included a study of where drivers speed, a structural analysis of the Swan River Bridge in Bigfork, a structural analysis of the pavement on MT 35 and studies filming tractor-trailers to see how often they crossed the center line or outer lines when driving along the east shore. In all of these instances, the results did not show that one part of the road was unsafe, or that drivers traveled at excessive speeds. The bridge, while narrow, is structurally sound as well.
In addition, MDT has removed certain passing zones, added a new vehicle pullout around mile 7, increased enforcement Motor Carrier Services and posted signs warning of limited passing and one that reads, “Be Polite, Do Not Tailgate.”
The conclusion, Lynch said, is that infrastructure isn’t causing crashes along the east and west shores of Flathead Lake, driver errors are, and suggested forming a “Road Watch Community Network,” where residents can report and watch out for reckless drivers, helping law enforcement to crack down.
“If we’re really serious about keeping this highway safe, between U.S. 93 and Highway 35, then it’s up to you as a community to fix it,” Lynch said. “I can’t think of any other way.”
Barry “Spook” Stang, executive director of the Montana Motor Carriers Association, said truck drivers would also be stepping up their monitoring of each other’s driving habits to increase safety in the area.
While the atmosphere of the meeting was mostly amiable, not everyone was satisfied. Jim Gates was one of those forced out of his lakeshore home by the April 2008 fuel spill – and he questioned Lynch during the meeting as to whether insurance requirements for truck drivers carrying hazardous materials should be increased by the state Legislature. He also said Lynch’s demonstrations showing car crashes outnumbered truck crashes was beside the point: When a sedan veers off the road, it doesn’t dump thousands of gallons of toxic material into the ground, forcing families out of their homes.
“I knew nothing was going to change and it wasn’t worth the gasoline I spent to drive up here,” Gates said. “Jim Lynch seems like a nice guy in a tough situation.”