As vast as Montana may be, it’s still relatively rare for a completely new road to be laid down, which is just one aspect of the Kalispell bypass construction, currently underway along the city’s west side, that makes the job unique.
“Often times when we do a road, we’re reconstructing something that’s already there,” Charity Watt Levis, public information officer for the Montana Department of Transportation, said. “We’re starting from scratch on this one, which is not something we do that often.”
The Kalispell bypass, also known as the U.S. Highway 93 alternate route, was a long time in conception but now that ground has been broken, progress has been rapid on the early stages of this massive project.
The crew from Ames Construction Inc., working on the bypass segment from Airport Road to U.S. Highway 2, has been hauling waste and debris from the old mill site along Appleway Drive, which is why that roadway has been closed. Appleway is scheduled to remain closed, according to Watt Levis, through October. To accommodate those wishing to use the Rails-to-Trails paved path, a temporary gravel parking lot has been set up behind the Fun Beverage building, since the route from the usual lot along Meridian Road is now blocked.
Crews are also building the roadway template, a retention pond, putting in storm drainpipes and “doing quite a bit of earth work,” Watt Levis said.
Farther south on the other section, extending from Airport Road to U.S. Highway 93, crews from Knife River have been building stone columns, installing drains and preparing Ashley Creek for the roadway that will eventually span it.
“Then they need to build embankments on both sides of Ashley Creek that will need to sit and settle for three months,” Watt Levis said, “because you’re building a bridge.”
And while a stretch of unseasonably warm, dry weather in February and March may be causing winter sports enthusiasts to despair, it’s been a boon for crews getting a jumpstart on the bypass.
“The weather has been cooperating and everything is as we expected it so far,” Watt Levis said.
“You can’t predict this time of year,” she added. “Every extra month for you have for construction in Montana helps projects.”