Members of the Montana Department of Transportation and HDR summarized and answered public questions regarding the Salmon Lake Reconstruction Project during a presentation on Thursday, Nov. 19.
The project area covers the length of Highway 83 along Salmon Lake from mouth to mouth stopping just short of the Placid Lake Road intersection. MDT Missoula District Administrator Bob Vosen said the design speed of the area is going to be 45 miles per hour and is not the same as a speed limit.
The goals of the project are to widen the roadway, stabilize some of the existing cut slopes, address drainage issues and improve some of the geometrics like curve sharpness and vertical grade.
“Those of you familiar with driving on this roadway [know it] has a very long history of rocks of varying sizes [falling] down and [ending] up on the roads,” Vosen said. “But we’re hoping to be able to address those and improve the safety of the overall roadway with those improvements.”
The team will also evaluate a major intersection with Woodworth Road and see if there is anything they can do to realign it and improve the sight distance.
Beth Kappes of MDT’s alternative contracting said that project teams are working towards having 30% of the project’s design phase completed by the end of the year. Their goal is to have plans finalized by the fall of 2022 with the bulk of the actual construction taking place summer 2023.
Vosen said originally the project was going to extend all the way from Clearwater Junction on Highway 83 to the north end of Seeley Lake. However, due to its size and funding it had to be broken up into four pieces.
HDR Project Manager Lisa Fischer said the project’s design was kicked off this year through the conduction of an alternative analysis. The analysis evaluated five design alternatives for different reconstruction options. During this initial design development, the team compared existing curves with MDT’s current design standards. They found that, out of the 19 horizontal curves in the project, one of them did not meet current standards.
To mitigate this issue, three- to four-foot shoulders will be implemented. These wider shoulders would also help accommodate bicycle traffic.
The project is evaluating methods to reduce collisions with wildlife in the area by providing accommodations like wildlife crossing warning signs or clearing vegetation adjacent to the roadway to help drivers see oncoming animals.
Regarding any additional field work taking place until construction, Fischer said that they have gotten through the bulk of it for this year. While there might be some follow-ups next summer, it will not be as frequent as this year.
HDR Public Involvement Lead Lisa Gray encouraged residents to reach out to her at lisa.gray@hdrinc.com if they have any questions or comments.
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