93 West road work begins this month
Commuters on the west side of town beware — reconstruction work on U.S. 93 West is set to get underway this month.
A $10.28 million contract for phase 2 of the Montana Department of Transportation project was awarded to Schellinger Construction. Work is expected to begin as early as July 14.
The phase begins at Karrow Avenue and ends at Mountainside Drive near Michael’s auto repair shop.
Work includes adding turn lanes and some raised medians, extending the sidewalk and bike path, and installing curbs and gutters through a good portion of the project. Overhead utilities will be buried up to Grouse Mountain Lodge.
“It’s going to improve the look on the west side of town,” said Bob Vosen, district construction engineer for the Missoula District. “It will be very similar to how the new road looks now.”
Rural sections of the project will include 12-foot lanes and 8-foot shoulders.
The grade of the road will be cut down near Ramsey Avenue, but raised near Whitefish Lake Golf Course.
“We’ll be improving the grade in a lot of areas,” Vosen said. “We’ll fill in the holes and cut off the knobs, and improve sight distance.”
Two pedestrian underpasses are planned at the golf course. Work on that segment is being pushed back until Oct. 1 to avoid conflicts with peak tourism season.
Schellinger will have 40 days to complete the underpass work, and has a $3,700 per day incentive to finish early. Crews will be working 24 hours a day on that portion of the project.
Work should wrap up in mid-November and continue next spring from the golf course to Mountainside Drive.
Residents along the route can expect standard dust control mitigation, Vosen said, and no work is allowed between 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., except for the section at the golf course.
Traffic delays are expected with one-lane traffic at times. There will be no signed detours using side streets, Vosen said.
Phase 1 of reconstruction from Baker to Karrow Avenue was completed this spring. Phase 3 will go from Mountainside Drive to Twin Bridges Road, as funding comes available, Vosen said.
The reconstruction project was originally approved in 1994 as part of the Somers to Whitefish West highway project with the primary purpose of reducing congestion, providing for planned growth and development, improving safety, providing facilities for bicycles and pedestrians, and providing for enhanced scenic values.
A public meeting regarding the project is slated for July 10 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.