Expect delays in Bad Rock Canyon as MDT crews start drilling

Motorists can expect delays in the coming weeks while traveling through the Bad Rock Canyon. Crews will be drilling in the Flathead River as well as the highway doing exploratory work for eventually widening the road through the canyon.

That section of highway that narrows through the canyon has been the site of numerous accidents over the years, some of them fatal.

Drilling crews will work in two phases. The first phase will require less than a quarter-mile of the westbound lane of US 2 to be closed for two days total, beginning April 27. This limited closure will be from reference posts 140.5 to 140.8 and will allow drilling crews to move their equipment into the Flathead River. A map of the area can be found on the project webpage https://www.mdt.mt.gov/pubinvolve/badrock/docs/study-area-map.pdf.

Once the equipment is in place, traffic will be uninterrupted for approximately eight calendar days. Then, once river work has concluded, the same westbound lane closure configuration will be established for a single day to remove the equipment. During each of these two days, single-lane traffic will be facilitated by flaggers.

The second phase is anticipated to begin early in the week of May 4, roughly eight days after the first phase begins. Crews will work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. throughout the week and weekends to drill in the westbound lane of U.S. Highway 2. Traffic will be limited to one lane, controlled by flaggers to facilitate safe travel.

While crews will work to keep impacts as limited as possible, drivers should plan for delays of up to 30 minutes during heavy traffic. However, once crews have finalized their work for the day, the drilling site will be temporarily filled to allow for travel. From the hours of 8 p.m. to 6:59 a.m., traffic will not be impacted by construction, MDT said in a release.

Additional project information can be found online at https://www.mdt.mt.gov/pubinvolve/badrock/.