City pursues grant for Baker Avenue underpass project

The city of Whitefish is applying for a grant to assist in constructing a major project called for in plans for downtown.

The Baker Avenue underpass project has a more than decade-long history rooted in the city’s downtown master plan and the bike and pedestrian plan. The underpass is planned to span under Baker near the O’Shaughnessy Center west connecting to the city’s path off of Railway Street.

A key component of the downtown master plan is the Whitefish Promenade, which is designed to encircle and connect the downtown to the Whitefish River and downtown parks and provide connections to commercial areas and residential neighborhoods north of the viaduct.

City Council Feb. 21 approved a grant application for the project to the Montana Department of Transportation’s Transportation Alternatives grant program.

A conceptual design of the underpass, developed with WGM Group, along with the parameters set by MDT puts the estimated project total cost at just over $1.1 million. In its grant application, the city committed to funding up to $400,000 of the project.

The Baker Avenue underpass was revalidated when the downtown plan was updated in 2015 as being important for providing an alternative intersection crossing at Baker Avenue and Railway Street, according to Public Works Director Craig Workman.

“The Baker Avenue underpass has been long-identified as a critical link to tie the commercial Railway District west of Baker Avenue to the downtown area and Central Avenue streetscape,” Workman said.

The city’s bike and pedestrian plan adopted earlier this year also established the desire to improve connectivity and safety in the community’s shared-use path network. The intersection of Railway Street and Baker Avenue was cited most often as an existing safety concern, Workman noted.

The minimum match for the grant is 13 percent. However, Workman noted, grant reviewers look very favorably upon higher local matches so in an effort to be more competitive with the pool of projects it was recommended to include a higher match, which it did to at about 35 percent.

Council took issue with the cost estimates for the project.

Councilor Frank Sweeney pointed to the construction of the Skye Park pedestrian bridge, which he said was a project that “came back to haunt” the city. He noted the cost of the bridge ballooned from $600,000 to $1 million, which increased the city’s match from $300,000 to $800,000.

“What happens when this spirals out of control?” he said. “I’d like to see this go forward, but what if that happens again.”

Workman said the resolution approved by Council caps city funding at $400,000, but the state would likely look to the city for more money if it’s needed for the project.

The original cost estimate for the project included in the bike and pedestrian plan was $688,000, which assumed a 14-foot wide and 10-foot high structure. However, the conceptual deign was developed based on stakeholder input that sought a structure 24-feet wide and 11.5-feet high, placing initial cost estimates at $677,000. MDT requirements call for recommended values for the project including a 20 percent contingency that bring the total estimated project cost to just over $1.1 million.

Former City Manager Chuck Stearns noted that the city usually carries a smaller contingency on projects than the state is requiring.

“You have a lot more conservancy or contingency built-in with this,” he said. “Staff has felt it’s worth taking a chance on it.”

Councilor Richard Hildner said the city needs to find ways to bring that project cost down.

“This is a key part of the downtown master plan and the bike and pedestrian plan,” he said. “We will be pleased when it’s accomplished.”

Workman said there may be ways to do just that as the city works through the details of the project providing value engineering for it and finalizing engineering and design.

“Engineering that width resulted in a significant cost increase,” Workman said, noting the final width is not yet set.