U.S. Route 93 Alternate (Kalispell, Montana)

Alt
U.S. Route 93 marker

U.S. Route 93 Alternate
Route information
Maintained by MDT
Length: 4.5 mi[1] (7.2 km)
(segments open as of 2013; final est. 7.6 miles)
Existed: 2010 – present
Major junctions
South end: US 93 south of Kalispell
 

S-503
US 2
S-424

S-548
North end: US 93 north of Kalispell
Location
Counties: Flathead
Highway system

Montana Highways
Secondary

← US 93I‑94 →

U.S. Highway 93 Alternate (US 93 Alt. or Alt 93) in the U.S. state of Montana is an alternate route of US 93 that bypasses the central business district of the city of Kalispell.

Route description

US 93 Alt. begins at US 93 south of Kalispell approximately 0.7 miles (1.1 km) south of the "Four Corners" junction with Secondary Highway 317 (S-317), and currently runs as a temporary two-lane highway for nearly 4 miles (6.4 km) to US 2 west of Kalispell, and as a four-lane highway from there for nearly 3.6 miles (5.8 km) to its northern terminus at US 93 north of Kalispell.[2]

The completed circuit opened to traffic on October 28, 2016.[3] Future construction includes completing the permanent four-lane highway from US 2 south to US 93 with grade-separated interchanges at both S-503 intersections (Airport Road and Foys Lake Road/Meridian Road) when funding permits.

History

The idea for a bypass to relieve congestion in downtown Kalispell had been discussed since the 1940s, with the first formal request submitted to the MDT in 1953.[4] Most proposals centered on a western route on or near the former BNSF railroad route between Somers and Kalispell, especially when relocation and environmental concerns eliminated expansion of S-317 southeast of Kalispell for that purpose.[4] The idea finally came to fruition in 1994 with the approval of the region's federal environmental impact statement selecting the route of the proposed Kalispell bypass slightly west of the original railroad route with a bridge over that route to link it to US 93. Corridor design began in 1995, with Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) right-of-way corridor approval in 1997.[5]

In 2004, MDT reevaluated the Kalispell bypass portion of the study, began the bypass design and conducted the first community meeting to give an overview of the project. Design work and right-of-way acquisition continued, and in 2008 the project design was changed to staged construction, to construct as funding allowed, and the segments from US 2 south to US 93 and Reserve Loop (since renamed Old Reserve Drive) to US 93 were chosen as the first to be constructed.[5]

The first segment from US 2 south to the Foys Lake Road/Meridian Road roundabout was completed and opened in fall 2010,[5] the segment from there to the Airport Road roundabout and US 93 was completed and opened in November 2012.[1] The segment from Old Reserve Drive to US 93 was completed and opened in November 2013, and culvert and overpass work for the future S-424 interchange were completed in 2014.[5]

2015-2016 construction of the northwest segment from US 2 north to S-548 included grade-separated interchanges at US 2, Three Mile Drive (S-424), Four Mile Drive and S-548, and an overpass for Two Mile Drive,[2] and expanded the first 2010 segment from Foys Lake Road to US 2 to four lanes.

Major intersections

The entire highway is in Flathead County.

Locationmi[1]kmExitDestinationsNotes
​0.0000.000 US 93 – Kalispell, MissoulaSouthern terminus of US 93 Alt.
​0.5010.806Roundabout (for future Siderius Commons expansion)
​1.2482.008 S-503 (Airport Road)Roundabout
​2.5004.0232Sunnyside DriveNorthbound exit only; interchange not yet listed in road log—approximate milepoint
​3.2295.197 S-503 (Foys Lake Road/Meridian Road)Roundabout, four-lane controlled access north from here as of October 2016
​4.0006.4374 US 2 – Libby, Kalispell
​5.28.45 S-424 (Three Mile Drive)approximate milepoint
​6.210.06Four Mile Driveapproximate milepoint
​7.011.37 S-548 (Old Reserve Drive)Begin S-548 overlap; approximate milepoint
​7.411.9Garden Road/Reserve PlaceSouthbound exit and entrance only; approximate milepoint
​7.612.2 US 93 – Whitefish, KalispellEnd S-548 overlap; S-548 continues east; northern terminus of US 93 Alt.; approximate milepoint
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Staff (2013). "Montana Road Log" (PDF). Montana Department of Transportation. p. 117. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Staff. "Kalispell Bypass". Montana Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Ceremony set to make completion of Kalispell Bypass". kpax.com. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Dillon Tabish. "Ready to Roll". Flathead Beacon. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Staff. "Kalispell Bypass". Montana Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.