Transportation committee approves Missoula projects through 2031
Martin Kidston
(Missoula Current) A list of transportation projects slated through 2031 was approved by the Transportation Policy Coordinating Committee this week, bringing the program list one step closer to adoption.
Revenue for Missoula-area transportation projects between 2027 to 2031 is expected to total around $506 million. Of that, $214 million is earmarked for infrastructure programs and $46 million for transit programs.
“There's a lot of good work programmed here,” said Missoula County Commissioner Dave Strohmaier.
Glenn Ingram, a transportation planner with the city, said a majority of the funding, which represents a wide spectrum of sources, has been committed to projects listed in the Transportation Improvement Program.
High on the list sits the Russell Street project, which will widen the two-lane road to four lanes from Dakota Street to Mount Avenue. The project's estimated obligation sits at $135 million.
“The bulk of that funding is shown in 2028, which includes the construction of the project,” said Ingram.
Other projects include $5.4 million to remove the old concrete abutments under I-90 in the Blackfoot River. That project is slated for 2027. Roughly $875,000 is also earmarked to light Russell Street from Brooks to 39th Street – a stretch that includes a school and the YMCA.
Ingram said other funded projects include $26 million to construct the South Avenue Bridge in 2030, and $10 million to rehabilitate the deteriorating Orange Street tunnel.
“That will be in 2027,” said Ingram.
Roughly $26 million is also earmarked to reconstruct Mullan Road from Deschamps Lane to Pulp Mill Road, with construction slated for 2030. A range of transit and trail projects are also planned along with the transformation of South Avenue into a complete street and the Downtown Safety Access and Mobility project.
That endeavor includes restoring two-way traffic to Front and Main streets and reconfiguring Higgins Avenue from Brooks to Broadway, among other things.
“Shortly, you'll also be seeing the Long-Range Transportation Plan coming as an amendment to the growth policy. We're working to get the long-range plan adopted,” said Ingram.
While funding for the projects through 2031 is secured, funding for project planning has dwindled.
Aron Wilson, the city's transportation planning manager, said the Metropolitan Planning Organization and its partners may need to look for other funding sources down the road and consider cutting outside spending on consultants.
“We're really focused on things we can do with our existing staff expertise and doing more planning work with our staff rather than hiring that out to consultants,” said Wilson. “There are some trade-offs there. We're potentially missing some of that national expertise, that specific technical knowledge that consultant teams can bring to the work we do. But we gain by having staff pretty involved in all the work we do around Missoula.”
Wilson added that good planning leads to better project outcomes.
“We've been able to be successful in getting grants and putting those grants to work because we do a lot of the planning work up front,” he said.