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A Flathead County snowplow and grader makes its way down the North Fork Road yesterday.
While city leaders in Columbia Falls would like to see the North Fork Road to Camas Creek paved, the state Department of Transportation is giving the idea a lukewarm reception.
“In reviewing the most recent history on this section of the North Fork, Flathead County in partnership with MDT, completed a corridor study in 2010 to determine the needs and potential improvement options for this corridor. During the corridor study, substantial opposition to any paving of this roadway was encountered.
“In addition, funding for improvements of this route was also a challenge,” noted Ed Toavs, Missoula District Administrator of the Montana Department of Transportation in a letter to the Columbia Falls City Council on June 26.
Toavs referred the city to the 2010 study and suggested that any future effort to pave the road go through the county. If the county wanted to hold future meetings on the road, MDT would be happy to attend, Toavs noted.
The North Fork Road is part of the state secondary highway system and is maintained by the county. The road will see about $2 million in improvements in about three years, but that work, funded through a federal grant, focuses on the north end of the road near the Canada border.
The section to Camas Creek sees a lot of traffic from boaters and recreationists in the summer months and is extremely dusty. The city sent a letter out to lawmakers and state officials earlier this year urging paving the of the road be reconsidered after public meetings have indicated more support for paving the nine-mile stretch to Camas.
The idea of paving that section of road is nothing new — it’s been debated for more than 30 years.
The 45-mile gravel road currently costs between $150,000 to $250,000 to maintain annually, the county estimated last year. The county does get federal dollars for its roads, however, through the Secure Rural Schools Act.
The state Department of Transportation corridor study in 2010 found it would cost about $15 million to pave the road to the Camas Creek to a full 36-foot width, less if the road was made narrower.