Lack of funds stalls portion of Swan River hiking trail improvements

Funding for additions to the paved walking and biking path along Swan River Road won’t be enough to complete the project.

Flathead County Planner Alex Hogle updated the community on engineering for the path on May 21 at Swan River School.

There are two phases to the 1.8-mile project, which will run from Lee Road south to where the road curves near Swan River at Williams Lane. Paved portions of the pathway already exist between Swan River School and Swan River.

Flathead County is looking for cooperation from about 30 landowners as it plans extensions of the Swan River Road Path.

Rather than have the path be right next to Swan River Road, the county would prefer that the 8-foot-wide path be seven feet from the road for safety and drainage. That will require additional easements from adjacent property owners. Another option is for landowners to allow the county to build the trail in the area through a temporary construction permit. As it currently is situated, the county would have to use retaining walls along some of the pathway due to rolling terrain. This can get expensive, which is why the county would rather move dirt to even out the path.  

Flathead County commissioners approved up to $300,000 in Community Transportation Enhancement Program funds for the path in 2010.

Bigfork Rotary is a local sponsor for the path project. It has pledged to match just over 13 percent of the money for the trail and has already raised a substantial portion.

Construction on the path is slated to begin in the summer of 2014.

The ultimate goal is to build as much as 2.8 miles of paved bike path along Swan River Road to connect the Swan River Nature Trail with the paved path already in place from Montana Highway 83 to Lee Road. The project has been in the works for Rotary since 2007.

For more information, contact Hogle at 751-8200.