Surprised Officials Get Comments during City County Planning

Meeting 10 14 09 in Billings MT

Plans call for wider, safer road

Highway 212-310 from Rockvale to Laurel will become wider and safer under a plan approved earlier this year by the Montana Department of Transportation.

The narrow, two-lane stretch of road was the scene of a head-on collision last week north of Silesia that killed three people from Bridger. The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

While the Montana Highway Patrol and Carbon County Sheriff's Office have said stepped-up enforcement has reduced accidents in recent years, the reconstruction project also is expected to make the heavily traveled route safer and better able to accommodate traffic.

"It needs improvement," said Stefan Streeter, regional administrator for MDT. "It's more of a capacity issue."

The $49.6 million project would affect a 10.8-mile portion of the highway. A final environmental impact study approved in March calls the preferred alternative the Combined West Bench route, which would be a new four-lane divided highway generally northwest of the present highway between Rockvale and Laurel.

The existing highway would continue to serve local traffic, Streeter said.

The construction would be done in phases in order of priority, the report said.

The highest priority is the replacement of the railroad underpass at the north end of the highway. A new overpass would take traffic over the Burlington Northern Sante Fe tracks and will tie into the existing roadway. The overpass is estimated to cost $10 million.

The district office is getting ready to start designing the overpass, a process that is expected to take about two years, Streeter said. The department also will need to obtain rights of way for the new route. The first phase could be completed in about four years.

The second phase would be to reconstruct the junction in Rockvale to connect with Highway 310 with Highway 212's new roadway.

Two more phases would complete the new route.

Funding for the project would come from state and federal money normally allocated to the district, Streeter said. No special funding is planned for the work.

Highway officials did not know when the entire project would be completed because that depends on funding, design and other issues such as rights of way.

The new highway would improve safety for local and regional traffic and accommodate capacity over the next 20 years, the study said. The new route also would smooth traffic flow for travelers between Interstate 90 and Silesia, Rockvale, Red Lodge, Bridger and communities in Wyoming.

The report said that while the number and severity of accidents for vehicles of all types are below statewide averages, the rate of accidents involving trucks is more than 2.7 times the statewide average. And the northern portion of the highway had more accidents.

The report estimates the transportation demand will increase by 125 percent between 2000 and 2025.

Contact Clair Johnson at cjohnson@billingsgazette.com or 657-1282.

For Original article please click this link http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_e0e44052-bd32-11de-8062-001cc4c002e0.html

CLAIR JOHNSON Of The Gazette Staff | Posted: Monday, October 19, 2009