MDT continues purchase of easements for 93 West project
Cars drive along U.S. Highway 93 west of Whitefish near the Bar W Guest Ranch. (Heidi Desch/Whitefish Pilot)
More than half of the right-of-way easements have been purchased for the third phase of the Highway 93 West reconstruction project.
Construction is expected to begin after the easements are complete, according to Shane Stack with the Montana Department of Transportation. About 56 percent of the necessary right-of-way has been purchased and MDT estimates the project to be awarded to a contractor in 2019.
“The right-of-ways are the linchpin,” Stack said. “There is a chance that [construction] could happen in 2019. That date is an estimate and it may change.”
“We’d like to start the sooner the better,” he added. “We look forward to completion.”
Phase III of the project involves the reconstruction of Highway 93 from just west of the intersection of Mountainside Drive to milepost 133 just west of Twin Bridges Road.
The project on the 3.36-mile stretch of road will bring the roadway up to new standards including new surfacing, guardrail, turn lanes, signing and a shared use path, according to Stack.
The design calls for a shared use path along the north side of the road from Mountainside Drive to just west of Skyles Lake Road where a bike and pedestrian underpass is planned, and then the shared use path will continue on the south side of the highway ending at Twin Bridges Road.
The road design includes a westbound truck climbing lane beginning just west of Mountainside Drive and ending at milepost 130, where the road becomes two lane.
The cost of construction for Phase III is estimated at $9.5 million.
Phase I of the project included work from Lupfer Avenue to Karrow Avenue. Phase II was from Karrow to Mountainside Drive.
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 2010 report shows that on average 12,200 vehicles travel the roadway each day. It is projected that in 2030 that volume will increase to nearly 20,400 vehicles a day.