North Fork Road sees dust control

The North Fork Road is getting much-needed roadwork to smooth out its washboard surface. Deep blading is planned to start this week and be finished by Thursday, Ovila Byrd, Flathead County Road Bridge supervisor said at the North Fork Interlocal meeting last week.

The work will take place from about Great Northern Flats, or 2.5 miles below Big Creek, to about one mile past Vance Hill, north of Polebridge. The work requires a lot of water and trucks, he said.

The roadwork was delayed because the federal government appropriated the money late and it had to be rescheduled, he said.

It will cost $62,831 to blade and add dust abatement to 13.4 miles of the road at 88.7 cents per foot. The Forest Service contributes money for the roadwork because the road services its adjacent lands. The Resource Advisory Committee decides how much money will be set aside for road maintenance. The county matches the federal dollar amount at $31,415.

"Dust has been tough everywhere," Dave Prunty, Flathead County Public Works Director, said.

They have 500 miles of gravel roads in the county and only so much money and time to go around.

"In the Flathead County, you're at the end of the line," Prunty said bringing laughter from the crowd.

The county spends more money on the 50-mile North Fork Road than any other dirt road. It is the longest in the county and receives a lot of traffic.

The majority of the traffic is between Camas Road and Polebridge.

The county recorded more than 689 trips on a Fourth of July weekend over five years ago and it has only gotten worse. Other parts of the road see less traffic: 266 trips north of Polebridge, 477 south of Camas Road.

Gravel roads don't last with that much traffic, Byrd said.

That's why they use magnesium chloride to control the dust - it holds the gravel together. The chloride needs to be applied every year so the road lasts longer with the residual chloride that builds up from year to year, he said.

"It can be almost like a paved road," he said. "It really does save our gravel."

After this roadwork is completed, 20 miles of roadwork still remains above Vance Hill. Residents expressed concerns the road doesn't get the work it needs near the border.

That section is bladed twice a year and Byrd said they are fixing some of the softer places.

"We prioritize which gravel roads need the work," Byrd said. "It's not easy."