road construction

Road construction project status update

This afternoon, September 18, we received a progress report on the road construction work in the North Fork from Chris Rossmiller, a Senior Technical Specialist with the Federal Highway Administration’s Kalispell Regional Project Office. The entire report is below, with some minor editing and reformatting, but here’s the short version:

North end of North Fork Road — They expect to finish the culvert placement and drainage work but, most likely, the road surface refinishing will not be completed until next year. They will, however, ensure that the road is at least drivable and open for use before they shut down for the season.

Glacier Drive — They plan to finish all the Glacier Drive work this year, from the Merc property to Glacier Park, with the possible exception of seeding along the shoulders.

Here’s the entire report: Continue reading Road construction project status update

Road construction project status online

Here’s the web page for our local road construction project status. It includes some photos and links to a short newsletter that seems to come out about every four weeks:
North Fork of the Flathead River; Blankenship and Belton Stage Rd. Resurfacing.

An update taken from the September 1 project newsletter . . .

On Glacier Drive near Polebridge, clearing, and grubbing activities are complete. Culvert installation is also complete. Once the crew has completed placement of millings on Blankenship & Belton Stage Roads, they will mobilize to Glacier Drive and start placing millings before beginning surface work near Polebridge Mercantile.

On North Fork Road, the contractor’s plan is to start 6-7 day work weeks until project completion. Culvert installation, survey, clearing, and grubbing activities are ongoing.The contractor is scheduled to mobilize the crushing operation and begin processing surface aggregates at Whale Creek Pit in the next week.

For more details, see:
Road construction timing and restrictions revealed at Interlocal

Top five miles of North Fork Road now closed to non-essential traffic

The long-planned work on the upper five miles of the North Fork Road and on the segment of Glacier Drive between the Polebridge Mercantile and the Glacier Park entrance station is actually in progress this year. As expected, it is causing significant disruptions.

As mentioned in an earlier article on the NFLA website, the upper five miles of the North Fork Road was closed as of today, August 7th, to all but essential traffic, with likely delays of up to half an hour. If you are not a resident or someone with a really good reason to be up there, you won’t be allowed through. Also, the contractor will be running a weekend shift for the next two weekends, so the travel delays will be in effect for the next 14 days straight. If everything goes more or less as planned, this project will wrap up by mid-October.

A mountain of millings at DeMers Ridge

Here’s a photo of the the mountain of millings generated by a Glacier Park road resurfacing project and subsequently hauled to the DeMers Ridge gravel pit. Beginning July 10, Flathead County will be reusing this material to repair and upgrade the roughly one-mile section of Glacier Drive between the Polebridge Mercantile and the nearby entrance to Glacier Park.

Millings at DeMers Ridge, May 25, 2023 - Lois Walker — Millings at DeMers Ridge, May 25, 2023 – Lois Walker

Glacier National Park announces 2023 spring operations

View East into Glacier NP from Glacier View Mtn, April 16, 2017 - W. K. Walker — View East into Glacier NP from Glacier View Mtn, April 16, 2017 – W. K. Walker

From the official press release . . .

Glacier National Park Announces 2023 Spring Operations
After a long winter construction closure, Going-to-the-Sun Road opened to Lake McDonald Lodge this morning.

WEST GLACIER, Mont. [May 5, 2023] – Glacier National Park staff are gearing up for the season and while full park operations are still a month off, visitors will see an increase in recreational opportunities throughout May.

After remaining closed for the winter due to construction, the west side of Going-to-the-Sun Road opened at 6 am this morning to vehicle and recreational access up to Lake McDonald Lodge. Construction will be ongoing through September to mill, reclaim, and pave the road. Visitors should drive and bike with caution. There will be waits of up to 30 minutes in each direction to pass through the construction zone. Nightly closures will begin June 1 from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. with opportunities for visitors to pass through at midnight, 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. The east side of Going-to-the-Sun Road is currently open to vehicles approximately six miles from St. Mary to Rising Sun.

Continue reading Glacier National Park announces 2023 spring operations

Road construction timing and restrictions revealed at Interlocal

The long-planned work on the upper 5.5 miles of the North Fork Road and on the segment of Glacier Drive between the Polebridge Mercantile and the Glacier Park entrance station is actually happening this year. It will cause significant disruptions.

Continue reading Road construction timing and restrictions revealed at Interlocal