Public meeting scheduled for the U.S. 93 Polson Corridor Study and Polson Area Transportation Plan

POLSON — The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT), in partnership with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), Lake County, and the City of Polson, is holding the first public meeting on the U.S. 93 Polson Corridor Study and Polson Area Transportation Plan. The meeting will be held on Thursday, September 9 at the Polson City Library, 2 First Avenue East. An open house will take place from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., with a formal presentation beginning at 6:30 p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to inform the public on the corridor study and transportation plan scope and purpose, take questions, and solicit input from the community on the existing conditions and concerns within the corridor.

The U.S. 93 Polson Corridor Study includes those areas of U.S. 93 from approximately reference marker 56.5 (U.S. 93/Caffrey Road) and extending approximately 6.5 miles north to approximately reference marker 63.0, or 0.8 miles beyond the Rocky Point Road intersection. The corridor study will determine feasible improvement options to address safety and environmental concerns of the transportation corridor based on needs presented by the public, study partners, and resource agencies. General corridors for analysis will be identified based on input from local governments, the public, and other agencies. The study will also examine the feasibility of a U.S. 93 Alternate Route through Polson.

The purpose of the Polson Area Transportation Plan is to evaluate the community’s transportation system, and ascertain what is needed to make the transportation system function adequate over the course of the 20-year planning horizon. The overriding objective is to develop a transportation plan that is consistent with the desires and direction of the community as a whole, while still providing a safe, functional, and multi-modal transportation system that can accommodate existing and future travel demands. The end product of this planning effort will be a useable transportation plan that can help guide infrastructure improvements in the community.

Community participation is a very important part of the process, and the public is encouraged to attend. Opinion, comments and concerns may be submitted orally or in writing at the meeting or by mail to Sheila Ludlow, MDT Statewide and Urban Planning, Project Manager, PO Box 201001, Helena, MT. 59620, or online at www.mdt.mt.gov/mdt/comment_form.shtml

Please indicate comments are for the U.S. 93 Polson Corridor Study and/or Polson Area Transportation Plan. MDT and CDM will collect and consider all public comments to better understand the public view of potential issues and concerns within the community.

Future announcements will be made prior to all public events through the local media and the study mailing list. Interested parties are encouraged to join the project mailing list by submitting their name and contact information to Jeff Key at KeyJA@cdm.com.

Two separate websites have been developed and can be accessed at www.mdt.mt.gov/pubinvolve/polsoncorridorstudy/ or www.mdt.mt.gov/pubinvolve/polsontransplan/

MDT attempts to provide accommodations for any known disability that may interfere with a person’s participation in any service, program or activity of our department. If you require reasonable accommodations to participate in this meeting, please call Jeff Key, CDM, (406) 441-1400 at least two days before the meeting. For the hearing impaired, the TTY number is (406) 444-7696 or 1-800-335-7592, or call Montana Relay at 711. Accommodation requests must be made at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. Alternative accessible formats of this information will be provided upon request.