Page 6 - Flathead Beacon // 5.27.2015

6 | MAY 27, 2015
NEWS
FLATHEADBEACON.COM
W•O•R•D•S of the Week
AN INDEX OF RECENT NEWSMAKERS
CLOSED
Lee Newspapers announced it was closing its Montana capital bureau and letting go veteran reporters Chuck Johnson and Mike Dennison.
OUTLAWS
The Flathead Valley’s new- est sports team, the Glacier Outlaws, kicked of their inau- gural season on May 21 with a game against the Skagit Valley Loggers in Whitefish. The team will play in the val- ley through July.
DUNNIGAN
One of the Flathead Valley’s favorite artists, John Dun- nigan, is back after a bout with pancreatitis. A benefit is being held for Dunnigan in downtown Whitefish on May 28.
TUITION FREEZE
Montana students will not pay more to go to college after the Board of Regents voted for a two-year tuition freeze at its meeting in Ka- lispell last week.
REAL ESTATE
Sales are up 16 percent so far this year and the real estate market is poised to have a banner year.
Ed Toavs,
left, district administrator
for Montana Department of Transportation, and Mike Tooley, director of MDT, speak during
a presentation about the Kalispell bypass.
GREG LINDSTROM FLATHEAD BEACON
Fight Over Highway Funds Impacting Kalispell Bypass, Sun Road
Governor visits unfinished section of alternate route in show of support for federal transportation funding
By DILLON TABISH of the Beacon
The latest fight in Congress — figur- ing out how to pay for the nation’s multi- billion-dollar infrastructure needs — is reverberating in Montana, where federal funding is the lifeblood of transportation projects but is surrounded by uncertain- ty. The ongoing debate and inaction are
threatening delays for the completion of two significant projects in the Flathead Valley, the Kalispell bypass and recon- struction of Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.
The long-awaited bypass, which is ful- ly designed on the north half and ready to be finished over the next two years, has already been stalled while lawmak- ers grapple with the reauthorization of federal transportation spending. Instead of the alternate route being completed by late 2016, it appears mid-to-late 2017 is the soonest completion date, according to state transportation officials.
The National Park Service, which has spent nearly $140 million for a lengthy
rehabilitation project along the iconic Sun Road, is down to the final stretch but needs roughly $18 million for the last six miles on the west side from West Glacier to Avalanche Creek.
Completing both projects in the time- frame and scope as previously planned could prove difficult if Congress fails to find a solution for its beleaguered High- way Trust Fund, which is the main fund- ing mechanism for America’s roads, bridg- es and other infrastructure. The trust fund is drying up and failing to cover cur- rent highway spending levels. The fund gains revenues from federal gas taxes, but
See Highway Bill PAGE 20
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