Blue Slide Road work to resume

Work to install a new culvert under Blue Slide Road, where a creek flooded earlier this year, will begin after Labor Day.

Representatives of the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) and GIS Engineering held an open house at the Sanders County Courthouse last Thursday to update the public on the project to provide a long-term solution for the roadway.

Bob Vosen, MDT Missoula District construction engineer, said the work to install a new culvert will take four to six weeks. Vosen said the new culvert will be 5 feet in diameter, whereas the old one was 4 feet. The new culvert, Vosen said, also aligns with the new location of the stream channel.

Vosen said the work on Blue Slide Road will begin after Labor Day and will be completed this fall. Bryan Wayer with GIS Engineering said the project also will include safety scaling, which entails pulling and clearing rocks from above the road in order to keep the ditch clear.

The first phase of the project, completed earlier this summer, included stabilizing the road. “We’re in a stable and safe solution now,” Vosen said, adding that the first phase of the project was completed quickly in order to re-open the road to traffic.

The budget for the second phase of the project is $500,000, according to MDT Project Manager Drew Fetters. The design will be completed by the end of August, and the project will begin in mid-September, according to GIS and MDT representatives. Vosen also said that as with most projects, progression will be dependent on weather.

Brett Gustafson with GIS said that delays should be minimal, with single-lane closures during the project. However, in order to place the new culvert, the road will be closed for a stretch of 48-72 hours early in the project. MDT will communicate with the public to give notice before the road is closed.

A culvert at Cougar Creek, about 9 miles west of Thompson Falls on Blue Slide Road, failed in early May when snowmelt caused water and debris to rush down the mountainside. With the culvert blocked, water and dirt flooded the road and washed out dirt from under the road. The washout closed the road completely for several days.