Thanks to all those who came to the meetings last week in Somers and Polson. We had about 100 at Somers, and the comments were pretty evenly divided. There were a good number of truckers, and they seemed to have good luck getting the microphones early in the meeting. There was a larger turnout at the Polson meeting (the Missoulian reported 200), and the tone of the comments clearly favored more regulation of trucks. The Kalispell Daily Inter Lake was at the Somers meeting, as was Alex Strickland from the Bigfork Eagle, and KPAX TV. Vince Devlin of the Missoulian was at the Polson meeting, along with Jeff Smith from KERR Radio and Jennifer McBride from the Lake County Leader. Hope I didn't miss anyone. The Eagle and the Leader should have stories in their issues dated June 12 (tomorrow). The links below will show the daily reports on the meetings.
http://missoulian.com/articles/2008/06/06/news/local/znews02.txt
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2008/06/06/news/news03.txt
http://www.montanasnewsstation.com/Global/story.asp?s=8109815
Jim Lynch and the Montana Department of Transportation had a large number of data charts at the meeting, in handout booklets and on Powerpoint. I have a couple of extra copies of the booklets but have been encouraging MDOT to put the information up on their web site for easier public access. Also, a couple of people who have attempted to send comments to the MDOT comment link have reported problems. It could be because the comment page requires you to designate a specific problem or issue from the categories on the left side of the page, and I don't think the deparment has formally set up Highway 35 as an issue. I have asked Jim Lynch to look into these problems.
Meantime, it's probably more effective to send comments directly to Jim Lynch jilynch@mt.gov or Dwane Kailey dkailey@mt.gov Comment deadline is July 7.
We have also had an inquiry for information from Tom Smith, a member of the Flathead Basin Commission, who advises that the commission is concerned about the April 2 fuel spill and the general threat to water quality posed by hazardous materials spills along the lakeshore. The commission is considering drafting a formal resolution on the issue.
During the meetings last week, Lynch made it clear that MDOT has the authority to impose restrictions on truck traffic. I have always believed that to be the case, because it happens in other states as we all know. But this is the first time an MDOT director has stated it plainly. In fact, Lynch is the first director in my memory who has taken this issue seriously. I thank him for that and for the work his department has put into the data that were presented at the Somers and Polson meetings.
On the other hand, Lynch also made it clear that restrictions on trucks cannot be arbitrary and need to be fully justified. MDOT data indicate that the accident rate for trucks per million miles traveled on Highway 35 and 93 is not significantly different from the state average.
Comments from the public highlighted the greater danger to water quality from hazardous materials along Highway 35. They also emphasized the lower standards of Highway 35: the minimal width of travel lanes, the lack of shoulders and clear zones, the guard rails just inches from the fog lines, and the continuing damage to the roadway from heavy trucks due to the older construction and lack of modern engineering on Highway 35. And there were many comments about speeding, truck trailers swinging back and forth across the center
and fog lines, and past accidents or close calls.
Both meetings were attended by Kevin Howlett, Montana Highway Commissioner for western Montana and a very influential leader of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. He was appointed to the commission by former Republican Gov. Judy Martz and re-appointed by present Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer. Howlett spoke near the end of each meeting, after hearing the comments, so his remarks didn't make the news. But he stated very bluntly in Polson that he is deeply concerned by the "catastrophe" of April 2, which has contaminated five Flathead lakefront homes with gasoline and left 5,000 gallons of gasoline in the ground, some of it now under the lakebed. He said this issue involves many state and federal agencies, including the Tribes, and as a commissioner he does not take it lightly. Bear in mind that the Tribes have jurisdiction over the lakebed and shoreline on the south half of the lake, where the April 2 spill occurred.
There were many other great comments, but one in particular that didn't make the press reports came from Yellow Bay resident Harry Hiatt. When Spook Stang, executive director of the motor carriers, talked about how much truckers pay in road taxes, Hiatt pointed out that all those costs always get passed on to the consumers, so in fact we all are paying all those costs.
After the comment period closes July 7, the department plans to review them and then return for another round of meetings to discuss the options. No timetable has yet been set for that process. I will post this update on the blog page at http://montana35.blogspot.com/ Feel free to post comments on that page, or if you are (like me) still trying to figure out how blogs work, just send me an e-mail don@partnerswestrealty.com
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Mis-routed Cargo
View from Crane Overlook
Swan Range near Bigfork
Lake County Leader photo by Jennifer McBride
This blog is to provide a forum for discussion of safety issues on Highway 35 in northwestern Montana, particularly in the wake of recent accidents and a major fuel spill involving large semi-trailer trucks. The fuel spill has forced the evacuation of five lakeside homes and may take months or years to clean up.
Appropriate for 35?
Mis-routed Cargo
Highway 35 Flathead Lake
View from Crane Overlook
About The Highway
- Montana Highway 35
- This state highway in northwest Montana runs north from Polson along the east shore of Flathead Lake, one of the largest natural lakes in the West. It continues through the artist village of Bigfork and along the Swan Range to Kalispell, with a connecting link to Glacier National Park via Montana 206.
Welcome
Welcome to this blog, which has been created by Don Schwennesen, a resident of Highway 35 for 28 years with a small fruit orchard that my wife Rose and I have operated for 28 years. Our concerns about safety on this highway have grown with the increasing volume of truck traffic and size of the rigs. This is a low-standard winding scenic route along the east side of Flathead Lake, with a roadway of 24 feet or less. Though a higher-standard route exists on the west shore, U.S. Highway 93, most truckers prefer Highway 35 because it is a few miles shorter and has fewer hills.
In 1991, more than 900 East Shore residents signed petitions and had our state legislator introduce a bill to make this a scenic highway and place some limits on truck transport. The bill was killed in committee under heavy industry lobbying.
Certainly there is need and room for some truck traffic on Highway 35. We have cherry packers shipping fruit, loggers harvesting timber on the east shore, several businesses using construction and earthmoving equipment, at least one gravel pit and three gravel haulers, moving vans helping people move, several taverns and restaurants, and at least one grocery and gas station all requiring deliveries, and doubtless others I have missed.
The fact remains that Montana 35 is only a state highway. It is not built to modern federal standards. It is narrow and winding, without shoulders, with an old roadbed, with many stretches very close to Flathead Lake, with many driveways and approaches that are not always very visible, and with a history of some very nasty truck spills, at least three involving fuel, one involving hazardous wastes, and one that caught fire and burned a lakefront home to the ground.
The state doesn't have much right-of-way along most of this highway, so the chances of upgrading it are slim. Past surveys to relocate the road higher on the mountain have encountered intractable terrain problems, and a higher road location would likely be unsatisfactory to truckers, who don't even like to climb the hills on Highway 93. The state lacks even the funding to do major improvements on the 10 miles of Highway 35 between Bigfork and Woods Bay. Meanwhile, the roadbed is inadequate for the heavy truck use it now receives, so the road deteriorates steadily. It’s not the place to be routing the bulk of traffic traversing western Montana.
In my opinion, this highway needs stricter truck weight and length restrictions and limits on trucks hauling hazardous materials, in addition to greater respect for existing speed limits. But rules imposing these things will not mean much without industry support, because enforcement is extremely difficult. In addition, we need some new way that residents and carriers can register complaints about local conflicts, so these can be reviewed and resolved. It is simply impossible to expect the highway patrol to deal with every complaint.
I welcome lively discussion of these and other Highway 35 issues in this blog, as long as it is civil and respectful.
In 1991, more than 900 East Shore residents signed petitions and had our state legislator introduce a bill to make this a scenic highway and place some limits on truck transport. The bill was killed in committee under heavy industry lobbying.
Certainly there is need and room for some truck traffic on Highway 35. We have cherry packers shipping fruit, loggers harvesting timber on the east shore, several businesses using construction and earthmoving equipment, at least one gravel pit and three gravel haulers, moving vans helping people move, several taverns and restaurants, and at least one grocery and gas station all requiring deliveries, and doubtless others I have missed.
The fact remains that Montana 35 is only a state highway. It is not built to modern federal standards. It is narrow and winding, without shoulders, with an old roadbed, with many stretches very close to Flathead Lake, with many driveways and approaches that are not always very visible, and with a history of some very nasty truck spills, at least three involving fuel, one involving hazardous wastes, and one that caught fire and burned a lakefront home to the ground.
The state doesn't have much right-of-way along most of this highway, so the chances of upgrading it are slim. Past surveys to relocate the road higher on the mountain have encountered intractable terrain problems, and a higher road location would likely be unsatisfactory to truckers, who don't even like to climb the hills on Highway 93. The state lacks even the funding to do major improvements on the 10 miles of Highway 35 between Bigfork and Woods Bay. Meanwhile, the roadbed is inadequate for the heavy truck use it now receives, so the road deteriorates steadily. It’s not the place to be routing the bulk of traffic traversing western Montana.
In my opinion, this highway needs stricter truck weight and length restrictions and limits on trucks hauling hazardous materials, in addition to greater respect for existing speed limits. But rules imposing these things will not mean much without industry support, because enforcement is extremely difficult. In addition, we need some new way that residents and carriers can register complaints about local conflicts, so these can be reviewed and resolved. It is simply impossible to expect the highway patrol to deal with every complaint.
I welcome lively discussion of these and other Highway 35 issues in this blog, as long as it is civil and respectful.
Highway 35 needs more restrictions on heavy trucks
Highway 35 Swan Mountains
Swan Range near Bigfork
Fuel spill
Lake County Leader photo by Jennifer McBride
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