MDOT reveals Highway Watch Program for highways near Flathead Lake

The Montana Department of Transportation unveiled a Highway Watch Program on Wednesday for areas of concern on both Montana Highway 35 and U.S. Highway 93 near Flathead Lake.

The program, which is the first of its kind in the state, allows drivers or concerned citizens to call in to a toll-free number, 1-877-684-9935, and report unsafe driving to the department. This information will then be used to propose further solutions to perceived problems on the highways, MDOT Director Jim Lynch said. For emergencies, officials are urging residents to still call 911.

"We need to figure out what we need to do to make it safe," Lynch said. "No one has the expectation of putting their family behind the wheel and not getting home at night."

The program was announced before a new sign in Bigfork with representatives from MDOT, the trucking industry, Montana Highway Patrol and local residents. The stretches of roadway between Bigfork and Polson on Highway 35 and Somers and Polson on Highway 93 are the target of this program, which is advertised through signs revealed this week at their four entrances.

Safety on these sections of highway has been a topic of concern in a bout of public meetings over the past nearly two years after a series of large truck accidents occurred on Highway 35, including an April 2008 accident where a gas tanker crash spilled 60,000 gallons of fuel onto properties lining Highway 35 resulting in millions of dollars in cleanup.

Read more in the Feb. 18 edition of the Bigfork Eagle.