First phase of 93 West rebuild wraps up

The first phase of the Highway 93 West reconstruction project is nearly complete. Concrete and landscaping work along West Second Street is scheduled to wrap up in a few weeks.

“As long as the weather keeps up, we’ll be done soon,” said Bryant Munday of LHC Construction.

Only minor traffic delays are expected with periods of one-way traffic at Veterans Memorial Bridge. Crews will return in June to chip seal the roadway and add striping.

The Montana Department of Transportation project to revamp the west entrance to town began last April. Work included replacing the Second Street bridge, adding a center turn lane, installation of a bike path and sidewalk, new retaining walls, decorative street lights, landscaping, construction of a new storm drain system, and replacing sewer and water lines, and buried utilities.

“All in all, it went well,” said project manager Jay McMillan of LHC. “As long as we finish next week, we’ll be ahead of schedule, slightly.”

Phase I was slated to be complete by July.

Phase II of the project will run from Karrow to Mountainside Drive. That phase is currently out for bids with a projected start date of July 7.

Work will include rebuilding the road with raised and landscaped medians, turn lanes, and extending the new sidewalks and bike path.

One issue commuters have noticed on the new bridge are the stone pillars at the corners that are visibly out of plumb. The pillar on the northeast corner leans about 5 inches toward the Whitefish River.

Munday said there likely was an issue with support forms that caused the structures to slump over.

“There’s a lot of weight hanging out there,” he said.

He noted the pillars are solely for aesthetics and don’t provide any structural support for the bridge.

“The bridge is fine,” he said.

Still, Whitefish City Councilor Richard Hildner said it would be disrespectful to the veterans for which the bridge honors if left unfixed.

“This is not what taxpayers paid for,” Hildner said.

Public Works director John Wilson said he’s spoken with the Department of Transportation about straightening the pillars.

“We’ve expressed our discontent,” Wilson said.

The 138-foot single-span steel bridge was designed with the idea of preserving the unique community character of Whitefish.