Downtown transportation project gets final approval for full design
Martin Kidston
(Missoula Current) While questions linger, the Missoula City Council on Monday officially approved an agreement to bring a $24 million downtown transportation project to final engineering and design.
Monday's 7-2 vote frees up roughly $3.8 million to enable DJ&A to bring the project from 30% design to 100%, along with other project needs ranging from outreach to permitting.
The project is now years in the making and aims to address a wide range of needs in the downtown district.
“This project is very complex and it has many different interests,” said senior project manager Megan McMeekin. “But when we complete this project, we will make downtown safer, more accessible and more mobile for all users.”
The Downtown Safety, Access and Mobility project includes a number of elements, including the conversion of Front and Main streets back to two-way travel. Higgins Avenue will be reduced from four lanes to three with a dedicated center turn lane and bike lanes.
Other elements include a wider riverside trail with enhanced connections, signal timing and an ADA ramp at Beartracks Bridge. And while many aspects of the project's original vision will be fulfilled, some initial plans have been cut due to funding.
The city received a $24 million federal grant in 2023 and costs have increased over the past few years.
“When four to six years later when we're starting construction, what we originally estimated and what the feds estimated in costs buys less,” said council member Gwen Jones. “We have inflation, escalating labor and material costs. There's always value engineering down to make a project work, and that happens with any big project.”
As of now, the project will improve the Front Street entrance into Caras Park, but it will be scaled back from what is shown in earlier plans. And the project won't include raised and separated bike lanes on Higgins. Rather, the bike lanes will be separated at grade.
Stormwater improvements also aren't included, at least on a wide scale.
“I overwhelmingly, overarchingly approve of this project, but I continue to have consistent concerns that we're not addressing stormwater in a meaningful and proactive approach,” said council member Kristen Jordan. “The stormwater system will fester under a brand new road that will then require us to pull the road up and address the stormwater then redo the roads.”
Jordan voted against the funding amendment on Monday, as did council member Bob Campbell.
“I have concerns about the Higgins Avenue diet project generally and the project's future,” he said. “I find myself in opposition to this project. It costs too much, reduces parking, constrains traffic and negatively impacts businesses.”
City officials said that with the project now heading to full engineering and design, they'll present the updated plans in more detail in January.