Last piece of land acquired for bypass

All signatures are on the line, finalizing the purchase of the last piece of property for the southern part of the U.S. 93 Bypass.

That means the Montana Department of Transportation may go to bid on Thursday with the $34 million to $38 million construction job to build an alternate truck route on the west side of Kalispell.

"My hat's off to the landowners and the state DOT people who sat down and got this thing worked out," Transportation Director Jim Lynch said in announcing the progress Wednesday afternoon.

The highway department had used federal stimulus money to step up the pace of right-of-way purchases this summer.

On Oct. 13 Lynch announced that the last family had come to an agreement with the state. Located near the south end of the truck route, it was the final piece of land needed before the project could go to bid.

Some family members live out of state and needed to circulate the contract for signatures from all the principals before the deal was sealed.

"It wasn't adversarial at all," Lynch said. "It was just a complicated parcel … Any landowner wants their concerns addressed."

Now, the only thing standing in the way of going to bid on Nov. 5 is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit that regulates stormwater handling.

Lynch said the permit's 30-day comment period has ended, and now the Corps is working through input from state agencies and other parties affected by stormwater from the road project.

"If we have to back off on bid-letting a week, we will do that. But right now we'll play it as it comes," Lynch said.

"We probably have to make a decision on Friday, possibly Monday."

Lynch had expected the permit to come in by the end of October.

If the Corps of Engineers review adds any construction requirements, contractors intending to bid on the work will need at least a couple of days' notice. Those firms already have bid documents in hand, in preparation for the tentative Nov. 5 bid-letting.

That's the regular date the state highway commission has scheduled for bid openings on any state highway project that's ready to move forward. Last month Lynch asked to be included in that bid-letting list, just in case the Kalispell project was ready. Once on the docket, it can be pushed back as necessary.

The next dates are Nov. 12 or 19.

Initially the south half of the bypass - stretching from U.S. 93 in south Kalispell to U.S. 2 in west Kalispell near Appleway Drive - was going to be built in three projects, divided at Airport Road and Foy's Lake Road.

But it has been condensed to two projects.

The north segment, from U.S. 2 West to the north end of Airport Road, is the project that's on the Nov. 5 docket.

The south segment, from Airport Road to U.S. 93 South, is scheduled for bidding in December.

Construction could start as soon as the contractor is ready.

Weather will determine a lot of what happens as this project heads into winter. Lynch said it depends on the contractor's sequencing, but crews could do excavation, soil stabilization and similar work.

Also on Wednesday, Lynch outlined access points for local traffic to the finished bypass:

n At the soon-to-be relocated junction of Corporate Way and U.S. 2 West.

n Just east of Valley View Drive on Foy's Lake Road near the old railroad tracks.

n On Airport Road south of Cemetery Road (this is a new access point).

n Between U.S. 93 South and Airport Road.

n On U.S. 93 South just south of Gardner Auction.

All the access points are designed as roundabouts except the direct ramps onto and off the bypass on the south and at U.S. 2 West.

Lynch said plans also call for a separate bicycle path running the length of the route between U.S. 2 and U.S. 93.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com