Page 18 - Flathead Beacon // 10.12.16

COVER
BYPASS
2010
A view of the future site of the Kalispell Bypass from Lone Pine State Park. BEACON FILE PHOTO
2007
The site of the proposed Ashley Heights subdivision lies between houses along Ashley Drive, Sunnyside Drive and the proposed Highway 93 bypass. BEACON FILE PHOTO
2016
The U.S. Highway 2 interchange from Lone Pine State Park.
GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
2016
The Kalispell Bypass from Lone Pine State Park. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
“It was designed but at the time we didn’t have enough money to build it,” Jentz said.
With plans in place, U.S. Sen. Max Baucus successfully landed $250,000 for Kalispell to study the feasibility of the project. Momentum picked up, and more federal funding trickled in, leading MDT to start acquiring land along the proposed route. Years passed by and new property was acquired, but the commu- nity’s enthusiasm remained unrelenting.
“The stick-to-itiveness of our local leaders to go to their senators for funding kept this project alive,” Jentz said.
Persistence paid o , and just in the nick of time. By the early 2000s, the Flat- head Valley was one of the fastest-grow- ing regions in the Paci c Northwest. Kalispell’s population had spiked by nearly 10,000 people, putting the urgency of a bypass at the forefront of everyone’s minds. At the same time, the north end of Kalispell blossomed with new devel- opment, largely because of the planned bypass, according to Jentz.
“The growth up north was all pred- icated on that new transportation cor- ridor,” Jentz said. “(Developers) knew
it was going to be a major commercial engine.”
In 2005, Baucus and fellow Montana Sen. Conrad Burns successfully landed $6 million that could go to the bypass, which was largely designed by Kathy Har- ris with Stelling Engineers, now KLJ. It was far from enough to pay for the entire project, but city leaders decided to move
forward in sections. The rst o cial piece of the bypass became Old Reserve Road, a new route from U.S. 93 North connecting to Stillwater Drive. This route was seen as a bene t for many reasons, including the fact that Glacier High School was being built but only had access via Stillwater Road.
Two years later, further federal
funding was secured with the help of new Montana Sen. Jon Tester, and the decision was made to develop the south portion of the bypass rst as a way to guarantee that the whole project would be developed. Local and state planners made a com- promise to build the south half with only two lanes instead of four and with round- abouts, which cost roughly $300,000, instead of bridges, which cost roughly $5 million, as was originally planned. By reducing the scope of the south half, it dropped the cost from roughly $45 mil- lion to $30 million.
“We never would’ve gotten the proj- ect built if we kept going for that nal design,” Jentz said. “It was the best way to get this thing o the ground. That was a pivotal moment.”
By 2010, the south portion was com- pleted but Main Street was as busy as ever, attracting upwards of 40,000 vehi- cles per day. Roughly 35,000 vehicles a day traveled through the intersection of U.S. Highway 93 where Grandview and Four Mile converge near Kidsports Com- plex. It was among the busiest stretches of highway in Montana.
In 2013, the Kalispell Chamber of
BY THE NUMBERS
$140 MILLION 5,000 YDS
COST OF ENTIRE BYPASS OF CRUSHED GRAVEL
4.5 MILES 100,000 3.1 MILES
SOUTH SECTION TONS OF PAVEMENT NORTH SECTION
1 MILLION 500,000 + YARDS OF DIRT MOVED YARDS OF NEW DIRT ADDED
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OCTOBER 12, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM