Road construction consternation

Drivers are encouraged to be patient, be safe and buckle up because nothing other than standard wait times are expected for all ongoing construction projects.

Robert Vosen, district construction engineer for Libby and surrounding areas, said there are currently four construction projects in progress at this time.

Libby Creek South is being resurfaced with gravel and has an accumulated cost of $12.2 million. This project is presumed to be finished this October or November.

“I am very excited about the Libby Creek South project,”Vosen Said. “It is one of the most challenging projects in the state and it has had unexpected challenges come up during construction. With a high level of cooperation between the contractor and Montana Department of Transportation, we will have a great new roadway.”

Of the unexpected challenges described by Vosen, perhaps the most unforeseen obstacle was the incurred costs. Original cost plans for the project were much lower than $12 million. However, due to the difficulty of the project, it was started 30 years after being nominated.

“Montana Department of Transportation knew it would be a difficult project due to the soils, environment and impacts to the habitat,”Vosen said. “The specifics were not known, but some difficulties were anticipated.”

Other projects underway include chip resealing South of Libby- with a partial cost of $2.9 million an a predicted completion date of September 2014 - and paving and chipping east and eest of Highway 56 junction, which has a remaining cost of $2.9 million and a predicted completion date of September 2014. The grinding and sealing of highway 37 rumble strips, at a cost of $98,000, has a predicted completion date of July.

Luke Haggerty, Troy resident, regularly drives through the construction work zone between Troy and Libby to attend baseball practice. He said he leaves an hour early to arrive at his destination on time. “The construction is super slow and awful,” Haggerty said. “It’s like the twilight zone because you plan to arrive somewhere at a certain time and you get there way later than you planned.”

Kirk Kraft lives out near Happy’s Inn and travels through road construction on his way to Libby every morning. While Kraft endures construction delays up to three times a day, he has a positive outlook on the final outcome.

“Other than the short delays, I don’t consider the construction to be too bad,” Kraft said. “I know that once they are finished, the roads will be that much better.”

While traffic delays may be inconvenient for drivers, they are a necessity for the timely completion of safe roadways.

For a typical construction site, Vosen said there are anywhere from 10-35 men and women working to complete the project. Flaggers are found at several of the active sights and they have guidelines for allowed delay times.

“We have a policy to minimize wait times as much as possible,” Vosen said. “The policy also states a maximum wait of 15 minutes as a guideline. However, longer waits are required in some situations, such as blasting and other major projects.”

Along with the several active construction sites, there are a few inactive sites that will be worked on later this summer. One site in particular, the Libby Dam, is being held inactive due to eagle nesting season. The nesting season is anticipated to end in early August and construction work will resume at that time. The estimated cost of the project is $2.7 million.

Other inactive sites include Swamp Creek and Pipe Creek Road. Construction plans for Swamp Creek are temporarily on hold as workers are waiting for moisture to reduce to low levels in order to build berms in the swampy areas. Pipe Creek will be chip sealed when warm temperatures and dry weather permit it. Swamp Creek is estimated to cost $4.2 million and Pipe Creek expenses are predicted at $5.8 million.

Plans for two additional projects are ongoing and due to start in July. A plan called the D-1 Slope stability project, which aims to stabilize slide areas in seven different locations, is estimated to cost $3.3 million and will be completed in May 2015. The other project, called Schreiber lake mitigation, will begin July 10.

Funding for construction projects typically comes from various sources depending on the type of projects and the routes. Some of the sources include: Montana highway funding program, federal programs, safety funding and pavement preservation funds.

Vosen said the long-term goals of the construction efforts are to complete the Swamp Creek project and to continue to provide a safe transportation system for the district. He believes that current projects are making excellent progress and all will yield successful results.