Armed Forces Memorial Bridge work set

POLSON — It’s going to be a headache, but it’s got to be done. And last week plans took a large step forward in the resurfacing project planned for the Armed Forces Memorial Bridge in Polson.

The project was approved by a Montana Department of Transportation board last week, and the bid was handed to Westway Construction Inc. of Medical Lake, Wash., meaning the interruption may start in the next weeks, depending on the contractor’s schedule. This will begin a projected six-week period of slow moving, one-lane traffic across the bridge that is the major outlet for traffic heading north and south on U.S. Highway 93.

The notice to proceed from MDOT has an effective date of April 20. But an exact start date will depend on the weather and Westway’s schedule, MDOT communication director Charity Watt Levis said in an e-mail.

It’s contracted to be a short job - with the spring phase of the resurfacing mandated to be finished by May 31, before penalties kick in. The second phase is contracted to begin on Sept. 8., lasting 55 days.

City and state officials worked together throughout the planning process, researching traffic flows and scenarios to come up with a traffic management plan to best ease the pain, Polson interim city manager James Raymond said.

To cut down on some of the clustering, traffic control flaggers will be posted around the project, including at the Hwy 93 and Fourth Street East intersection signaling motorists to make a left hand turn to access downtown businesses. Signs, flaggers and barricades will be places around the area to guide drivers. Heading north, no left turns will be allowed onto Hwy 93 from First Street West, several alleys along First, Main and Second streets will be barricaded.

Plans included an emphasis on ensuring emergency responders will be able respond to emergencies with minimum interruption.

Raymond encourage residents to take advantage of the earlier turns, and find alternate routes around town during construction. Main access to downtown businesses will be through Fourth Avenue East.

A reader board posted near the intersection of Hwy 93 and Montana Highway 35 will suggest drivers take the alternate east route around the Lake to avoid delays. Traffic light timing will also be used to mitigate the impacts of the construction.

Still, businesses on both sides of the bridge are going to see dust flying.

Glacier Bank of Polson sits at the immediate east end of the bridge, on the north side. Assistant vice president Todd Bassett said the bank has been kept up-to-date with plans and engineers have been receptive to ideas on how to cut down the impact for

“It’s going to be disruptive,” Bassett said, “but we feel good working with the state. I think it’s not going to be as bad as people think.”

Bassett said he does expect the bank’s second location at Fourth Avenue and Main Street to get a boost in customer traffic. But the Hwy 93 location will go on with business as usual, he said.

Throughout the process, the city will be taking constructive comments on how to improve the plan. During the intersection construction updates on the intersection of highways 35 and 93 several years ago, the communication between the contractors and city officials was very successful, Raymond said.

“Let us know what’s not work,” Raymond said in the city press release. “We’ll get it fixed.”