Key presents draft of corridor study, solicits comments
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POLSON — Jeff Key, project engineer for the Highway 93 Corridor Study, and Sheila Ludlow, Montana Department of Transportation, met with 30 to 40 community members for the third in a series of informational meetings on the study. The public meeting was held on June 29 at the Polson High School Auditorium.
“We’re really trying to screen out alternatives,” Key said, ”and decide whether an alternate route (around Polson) is feasible.”
Corridor issues discussed were truck traffic, traffic congestion during four months of the year, livability, safety, economics, wildlife and natural habitat. Key said research had shown that during the four-month period from June to September, traffic elevates to 130 percent. In July it is 150 percent of normal. An alternative route, Key said, would pull 165 through semi-trucks off Hwy. 93 during the height of the busy summer season.
The Technical Oversight Committee is composed of local government officials and MDT officials. They narrowed the alternative routes down from 11 to three during the last year. The three routes include two alternative routes southwest of Polson and the existing roadway.
“What we heard from local reps,” Key explained, ”was to put our focus on the existing route (Hwy. 93.)”
During the question and answer, resident Mark Potter asked how the MDT defined capacity.
When planning a three-lane highway, Key said, you figure 40,000 vehicles per day.
Residents also brought up North Reservoir Road and Back Road as alternatives.
Key stressed the fact that a corridor study is not a preliminary or final design project. According to the newsletter, a corridor study “is an effort that involves early communication with interested parties to help identify needs, constraints and opportunities for a corridor …”
Key, Ludlow and the TOC are seeking public comment on the draft until July 8.
Comments may be mailed to Sheila Ludlow, MDT Statewide and Urban Planning, P.O. Box 201001, Helena, 59620 or on the website at www.mdt.mt.gov/pubinvolve/polsoncorridorstudy.
A draft of the finished corridor study document can be found at:
• The study website at www.mdt.mt.gov/pubinvolve/polsoncorridorstudy
• City of Polson, 106 First Street East, Polson
• Lake County Planning Department, 106 4th Ave. E, Polson
• Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Land Planning Office, 42487 Complex Boulevard, Pablo
• Polson City Library, 2 First Avenue East, Polson.
After July 8, the project team will respond to community comments and finalize the U.S. 93 Polson Corridor Study, according to the newsletter.
