State studies improvements for Montana 40
Cars pass over the Whitefish River bridge on Montana 40 Friday afternoon.
The Montana Department of Transportation is taking comments on potential improvements for a section of Montana 40.
MDT is looking to conduct a study on a section of the road beginning at the intersection of highway 40 and U.S. Highway 93 south of Whitefish and extending east 2.6 miles to just east of the intersection with Dillon Road and Conn Road.
Ed Toavs, Missoula District Administrator for MDT, said safety and replacing deteriorating asphalt are the main concerns for the section of the road. He notes that the road sees an average of about 12,000 vehicle trips per day annually and sees a larger volume during the peak summer season.
“This is a high priority project in western Montana,” he said. “There’s three main concerns — rehabilitation of the [Whitefish River] bridge, safety and deterioration of the road.”
Toavs said MDT has already planned to reconstruct the deck surface of the Whitefish River bridge and add new railing to it, but decided to take comments on changes to the road so as to tie it together in one project.
The study will evaluate options for surfacing rehabilitation and options for improvements that may include widening to provide a two-way left-turn lane and widening for right-turn-only lanes at selected intersections. Toavs expects the design would be similar to the reconstruction that was done on Montana 40 from the Dillon and Conn intersection east to U.S. Highway 2.
“There is a safety issue,” Toavs said. “People try to make left turns there and we want to look at making it a three lane road with a two-way turn lane.”
Some of the approaches have a turn bay, such as the intersection with Whitefish Stage Road, but many of the approaches leave little space for making a turn.
The results of the study may lead to a design project that would develop plans for a future construction project. The study is currently scheduled to be completed in late 2019.
“We want to hear comments about the condition of the road,” Toavs said. “We want to hear people’s concerns, ideas for mitigation and anything else that we’re missing.”
Toavs noted that over a year ago he received a letter from a concerned resident in the area that included up to 300 signatures from those who are concerned about safety on the roadway.
Toavs said it would be “unlikely” that the state would not go forward with the full road improvements, but even if it doesn’t the bridge deck will be repaired.
For more information, please contact Missoula District Administrator Ed Toavs at 406-523-5802 or Project Design Engineer William Squires at 406-444-6228. Written comments may be submitted to the Montana Department of Transportation Missoula office at P.O. Box 7039, Missoula, MT 59807-7039, or online at: www.mdt.mt.gov/mdt/comment_form.shtml. Comments are for project UPN 9187000.