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Amid Highway 93 construction, Arlee works to get tourists to stop

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ARLEE — Nearly a year after U.S. Highway 93 construction through Arlee slowed traffic and business to a crawl for the summer, business owners say things are picking up — slowly.

“So far, we got our head above water,” said Rick Johnson, owner of Rick’s Kustom Kut Deli and Meat Shop. 

“(Last summer) was pretty devastating, actually,” Johnson said, remembering a dusty few months when detours changed so frequently that even locals threw up their hands when trying to navigate downtown. 

While there was almost no hope of getting out-of-town customers during construction, Johnson credits faithful locals and construction workers stopping in for lunch with keeping him in business last year. 

“If it wouldn’t have been for (the construction workers), it would have been a lot tougher,” he said. 

Rather than keep Main Street open and drag the project out longer, the Montana Department of Transportation decided to route traffic around Arlee for much of the summer — a choice Johnson said most business owners appreciated. Working hard and quickly, contractor Dave Schillinger Construction was able to finish the bulk of the McClure road to Arlee section of U.S. Highway 93 about five weeks ahead of its Oct. 4 target date.

“(The construction company and MDT) did what they could,” Johnson said.

“We’re certainly doing better than last summer … (but) we have a lot of adjustments to make as a community,” added Hangin’ Art Gallery owner Donna Mollica. 

Designing effective signs to direct southbound travelers into Arlee shops is one such adjustment, she noted. Before the new road, downtown Arlee had the advantage of two-way Highway 93 traffic “in our parking lots,” Mollica explained.

Now, the highway is split, with only northbound 93 traffic passing directly through town. The southbound lanes veer just west of Arlee, making access to downtown businesses a bit confusing for passers-by. And some residents, Mollica among them, say they’ve felt the change more than others.

“The loss of the southbound traffic has had a substantial impact on my business,” she said. “I see a difference on the weekends — we’re getting tourist traffic, but we’re not getting what we used to.”

Even the Jocko Valley Farmers Market, a new addition in Arlee this summer, hasn’t drawn the numbers organizer Deb Little expected. While a wet spring slowed production for many farmers, they’ve been faithful to show up each week, and “it’s been a very good market,” usually with between 12 and 19 vendors, Little said. “The vendors are just so committed … every week I have a new vendor.”

The problem is complex.

“We’re trying to figure out how to get the tourists to stop,” she said. “We’ve gotten them to slow down, but not to stop.”

Part of the issue is that the market is scheduled for late afternoon, which is the hottest part of the day. But there’s just no other time that seems to work without trying to compete with already established markets in Missoula.

“Given that (the farmers market) is brand new, we’re pretty happy with it,” Mollica said. 

And with new sidewalks, lights, and a more attractive downtown, people who do stop for the farmers market are much more likely to park their cars and spend a couple of hours shopping and eating. Tony Hoyt, owner of gift shop Hummingbird Toys and Treats, said lately he’s seen lots of travelers taking longer breaks in Arlee.

“That never happened before,” Hoyt said. “We were a dump before.

“I think Arlee’s got a bright future.”

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