Council approves bid for Central Ave construction

The City of Whitefish plans to reconstruct the southern most portion of Central Avenue to address the issue of the roadway slumping into the Whitefish River.

City Council last week approved the project, along with improvements along East Sixth Street and resurfacing another section of Central Avenue. Council approved awarding a contract with LHC, Inc. for nearly $300,000 for the project.

For years the city has been monitoring the south end of Central Avenue where it curves before transitioning into Sixth Street. Historically the section of road has experienced past slide activity as far back as 1934, but it’s been 22 years since the last repair to the street.

The city has observed clear signs of slope instability, which is evidenced by the current asphalt condition and movement of the guardrail, according to Public Works Director Craig Workman.

The city plans to reconstruct the road while preserving it for two-way traffic. Other alternatives were considered such as reducing that section of the street to one-lane only, but concerns were expressed by residents and business owners regarding that plan.

The selected option will reduce the pavement width to 22 feet around the curve, bringing the guardrail in closer to the edge of the curve, the roadway will be reduced by about 6 feet.

Painted areas in both directions would create bike areas within the traffic lanes and the existing sidewalk would be improved to manage pedestrians.

“While this solution will not eliminate future roadway maintenance from soil instability, it strikes a balance between meeting the needs of the neighborhood, improving the existing safety concerns and reducing future maintenance needs,” Workman said.

Councilor Frank Sweeney suggested that the city consider a weight limit for trucks accessing the southern most portion of Central Avenue.

“I think that’s the fiscally responsible thing to do is limit loads on the road,” he said. “Anything that we can do to help preserve the roadway we should.”

He asked that the Public Works department return with a recommendation on the matter.

Also as part of the project, vehicular, drainage, parking and pedestrian improvements will take place along East Sixth Street from Spokane Avenue to Central Avenue. Also resurfacing will occur on Central from East Fifth Street to East Sixth Street.

The city anticipates construction on the project to take place this fall completing the final phase of Central Avenue construction.

The slope at the south end of Central in 1986 was reconstructed utilizing structural gravel fill as part of a sewer system improvement project. About 10 years later signs of movement in the form of pavement failure and open fractures on the slope were observed. At the time, according to the city, a geotechnical investigation was performed and it was deemed that the failure was caused by overloading the slope.

In 1997 the structural gravel fill was removed with lightweight fill material consisting of wood fiber extending to a depth of about 15 feet.

The city budgeted $400,000 for the project.

Council also:

- Voted to approve a change in the fee for the Parks and Recreation Department Stumptown After School Program. The Whitefish School District revised it schedule to allow for early release days on most Wednesdays throughout the school year with students being released on those days from 2:10 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. The change adds an hour to the after school time for the city’s after school program. In order to accommodate for the one hour of extra staff time for the program, the fee for the early release days was increased by $5. This increases the scholarship fee from $10 per day to $15 per day; the resident fee from $15 per day to $20 per day; and the non-resident fee from $25 per day to $30 per day for early release days.

- Voted to approve a resolution committing $2 million in local funds to the construction of the new wastewater treatment plant. The city is eligible to access funds from the Treasure State Endowment Program, but in order to do so must officially commit local funds to the project. The estimated total for the project is $18.7 million.