Driving around Great Falls in recent weeks, you may have seen single lane closures, reduced speeds, or you may have had to take an alternative route.
The Montana Department of Transportation and United Materials Inc. have been making progress on the Great Falls Urban Pavement Preservation Project, resurfacing three miles of roads in five locations in the Great Falls Area.
Rich Hibl, Great Falls District Construction Engineer for the Montana Department of Transportation, says, “The goals of this project are just to preserve and prolong the life of the pavement and the road sections that we are working on. The treatments chosen are designed to do just that."
The project also includes new pavement markings, signage, and sidewalk and curb adjustments. This fall, crews completed resurfacing roads on River Drive North and Park Drive North.
They also reconstructed a curb on the corner of Park Drive North and 6th street north, and added an ADA curb where the River’s Edge Trail crosses River Drive North.
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Work on the project has now been paused for the season, and will start up again next spring with scrub sealing in the following locations:
- Park Drive North / 2nd Street South from 1st Avenue North to the intersection of 2nd Avenue South and 2nd Street South, then continuing south on 2nd Street South to 10th Avenue South.
- 6th Street North from 8th Avenue North to River Drive North.
- 3rd Avenue South from 2nd Street South to River Drive South.
Scrub sealing involves scrubbing a mixture of asphalt emulsion and fine aggregate with a broom-like device into the pavement.
Hibl says, “It'll look just like a normal chip seal that most everyone has seen, with the exception of, we pull some brushes behind the distributor truck and it actually gets the oil to penetrate into the upper surface of the existing pavement and makes for a longer lasting treatment on those roadway sections."
This work will typically result in single lane closures.
In a news release from the Montana Department of Transportation, Great Falls District Engineering Project Manager said, “Thank you so much to everyone for your patience, watching out for work crews, and safely following traffic control. We completed the largest portions of this project on schedule this fall, and we’re excited to get back at it in the spring to seal and preserve the remaining routes."
For more information on the Great Falls Urban Pavement Preservation Project, click here.
(SEPTEMBER 24, 2024) Three miles of Great Falls roads, including parts of River Drive North, will be soon resurfaced as part of the Urban Pavement Preservation project.
“It’s a project designed to increase the useful life of the roads and make them just a better traveling surface for the public,” said Rich Hibl, the Great Falls District Construction Engineer for Montana Department of Transportation.
“We’re actually going to start later this week,” Hibl said. “We should be milling and paving through the week, probably a good part of next week.”
According to the MDT, the project will include new pavement markings, signage, sidewalk and curb adjustments, and one Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) curb reconstruction.
Hibl says the project will affect commute times, and that people should be aware when driving through the construction zone.
“People should be prepared to take a little bit longer to get to work,” Hibl said. “There will be restricted traffic through the project area, sometimes single lane sometimes two lane, two way, just depends on what is going on at the time.”
The locations are:
River Drive North:
- Work: Texas Underseal treatment from just north of Central Avenue West to 6th Street North, followed by a scrub seal treatment from 6th Street North to west of 9th Street North where asphalt meets concrete.
- Distance: Approximately 1 mile.
- Additional Work: Milling, paving, and new signage. ADA curb reconstruction where the River’s Edge Trail crosses the road (on the east side of the crossing).
Park Drive North:
- Work: Texas Underseal treatment from 8th Avenue North to 2nd Avenue North.
- Distance: Approximately half a mile.
- Additional Work: Milling, paving, and new signage. Removal and replacement of part of the curb and sidewalk at the southwest corner of Park Drive North and 6th Street North with a full-height curb, replacing the removed sidewalk with sod.
Park Drive North / 2nd Street South:
- Work: Scrub seal treatment from 1st Avenue North to the intersection of 2nd Avenue South and 2nd Street South, then continuing south on 2nd Street South to 10th Avenue South.
- Distance: Approximately 1 mile.
6th Street North:
- Work: Scrub seal treatment from 8th Avenue North to River Drive North, including turn lanes.
- Distance: 0.1 miles.
3rd Avenue South:
- Work: Scrub seal treatment from 2nd Street South to River Drive South.
- Distance: 0.1 miles.
Weather and other unforeseen factors permitting, the project is expected to last through the end of 2024.
Specific sections may be temporarily closed, and drivers may need to take alternate routes.
Click here for more information about the project.
