Blue Slide Road open, but restrictions in place

UPDATED May 25:

The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) will open one lane of alternating traffic on Blue Slide Road (S-472) over the Memorial Day weekend (May 24 - May 29).

* Construction has gone well so far and crews have been able to get a 10-foot wide lane open before the holiday weekend,” said MDT District Construction Engineer Bob Vosen. “It will take a couple more weeks of work before we can get two lanes open.”

* Construction will not take place over the holiday weekend but will start again on Wednesday, May 30 at 7 a.m.

* Starting Wednesday, May 30 the road will be closed during the day from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. for construction but will reopen every night at 7 p.m. to one lane of traffic. Traffic will be controlled using stop lights through the 1/8-mile long work zone.

* Motorists will travel at reduced speeds on a gravel surface.

* The lane width has been reduced to 10 feet and wide loads are restricted.

* MDT anticipates this schedule to last for a couple of weeks before the road can be opened to two lanes of traffic.

The road was closed approximately nine miles west of Thompson Falls in late April when Cougar Creek overflowed and washed out the gravel beneath the pavement, causing the roadway to become unsafe for travel. Over the past two weeks, construction crews have been able to stabilize a one-lane section of road and will continue to work on opening two lanes.

To request email updates during construction, text BLUESLIDE to 22828 or email [email protected]. Information and construction updates are also posted at http://www.mdt.mt.gov/projects.

One lane of Blue Slide Road opens

The weather cooperated, and Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) opened one lane of Blue Slide Road to traffic on Thursday.

Bob Vosen with MDT had hoped that they would be able to open one lane by the end of the week.

MDT attended an open house with Sanders County Commissioners last Wednesday at the Thompson Falls Community Center to update the public on the status of Blue Slide Road. MDT is planning a two-phase plan to repair the road.

Vosen expressed concern that the National Weather Service's prior weekend forecast was calling for high intensity rainfalls, of one to two inches. "If this happens, all bets are off," he said.

Phase 1 of the construction is a short-term fix to stabilize and open the roadway to traffic and is expected continue into June. Work will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and traffic will be controlled with stop lights and/or flaggers. Some full closures and detours should be expected as well as reduced speed limits due to gravel road surfaces.

Vosen is hopeful that by the middle of June, there will be two lanes open for traffic.

Beginning in July, Phase 2 will run through fall and address a permanent, long-term fix to prevent future damage to the road. "At this point, we are unsure of the size of pipe needed, specifics for a new culvert are unknown," Vosen said. MDT will begin determining these specifics once Phase 1 is complete and they have traffic moving again.

A complete and full evaluation of what will be required for a "long-term fix" will begin Phase 2, followed with an environmental and hydrologic analysis and finish rock mitigation evaluation. Once these specifics have been identified, MDT will once again hold an open house to share long-term repair plans.

MDT is expecting to have the entire road repair project complete by the end of fall, 2018. To sign up for construction email notices text BLUESLIDE to 22828, call (406) 465-3350, or email [email protected].

More information can be found by visiting http://www.mdt.mt.gov/projects.