Road resurfacing project planned for next summer

A routine road resurfacing project is scheduled for California Avenue in Libby and Highway 37 north to Pipe Creek Road sometime next summer, the Montana Department of Transportation announced Tuesday.

Wade Salyards, project manager, said the department plans to mill and resurface the roadway south of the Kootenai River Bridge in a procedure he referred to as “mill and fill.”

North of the bridge, the highway will be resurfaced with new asphalt without milling the existing roadway. The roadway will then receive a surface treatment known as “chip seal” or “seal and cover.” Safety improvements will include increased skid resistance upon the highway surface and highly reflective pavement markings.

“It’s pavement preservation … it’s part of the cycle that we do to preserve the roadway structure to keep it from breaking down too much,” Salyards said. “It’s one of the more basic repairs that we can do.”

One component of the project involves curb ramp and driveway upgrades to bring the highway up to Americans with Disability Act standards.

“That portion of the project lies within the Libby city limits,” Salyards said. “All of the ADA and curb ramp-type compliance is south of the bridge.”

The ADA compliance work typically involves some sidewalk revisions, installation of curb cuts and curb ramps along existing curb and gutter sections, and installation of detectable warning devices at curb ramps.

Salyards could not quote a projected cost of the project but said it will likely occur during the 2010 construction season that runs from April through October – the final dates dependent on the availability of funding and completion of design. The project should last only a few weeks.

“Probably not long … less than a month,” Salyards said about the project’s timeframe. “But it could be considerably less than that.”

Salyards could not talk in specifics with the project development process in the early stages.

The roadway length of the project is about 1.5 miles from Highway 2 to 1,680 feet north of the junction with Pipe Creek Road.

Single-lane closures should be expected in the project area during working hours.

“People become concerned about detours and alternate routes,” Salyards said. “We’ll have our standard traffic control in place during the project. … We’ll have one lane of traffic open at all times.”

The state transportation department said that it anticipates no property acquisition for the project. Utility relocations could be necessary for sidewalk and curb upgrades.

Written Comments

People may submit written comments to the Montana Department of Transportation, Missoula Office at P.O. Box 7030, Missoula, MT 59807-7039, or online at:

www.mdt.mt.gov/mdt/comment_form.shtml