Planning key to solve looming Flathead traffic crunch

“A lot of the roadways turn ‘red’ in the Kalispell area, including the Bypass, Highway 93 through Kalispell, Highway 2 through Kalispell, West Reserve,” Toavs told MTN News.

“And what ‘red’ means that you’re at least 50-percent traffic volume over the roadway’s capacity. And that’s not where you want to be. That’s a bad place to be,” he explained.

Toavs says MDT is starting to meet with local planners and decision-makers this month to establish priorities for the next round of construction. That’s something critical in a place without the freeway that helps in Missoula, Bozeman and Billings.