Engineer Danielle Scharf sees the biggest hurdles in Big Sky’s rearview with only one project behind schedule; MDT activates a new stoplight
By Jack Reaney ASSOCIATE EDITOR
A new stoplight, now the second along Montana Highway 64 (Lone Mountain Trail), signals the end to this year’s TIGER grant construction.
Installed in August, the stoplight was scheduled for activation in early October. Its activation was delayed by two weeks due to electrical service issues, but the light turned green for the first time on Oct. 24. It’s the final major change for drivers in Big Sky resulting from the summer’s TIGER grant construction.
Some final touches to this construction season include planting trees and shrubs around the pedestrian tunnel and installing signs and shiny delineators along the highway. In large part, the work is done in time for snow.
Danielle Scharf, project engineer with Sanderson Stewart, addressed the public at the Madison-Gallatin Joint County Commission meeting in Big Sky on Oct. 4. She thanked the community for their patience during a slow-moving summer and expressed hope that drivers are noticing improvements.
“I know it was really hard with the traffic control, especially when they were paving and they had any sort of lane closures… vehicles would back up pretty quickly,” Scharf told EBS in a follow-up interview.
She sees the new left-turn lanes—constructed at Huntley Drive, Big Pine Drive, Andesite Road, Little Coyote Road, Meadow Village Road and Big Sky Resort Road—as a big accomplishment from this summer’s work, improving safety and traffic flow.
Scharf also noted that pedestrians and bikers seem to be enjoying the paved pathways between Big Pine Drive and Andesite Road, and along Little Coyote Road between the highway and the Big Sky Community Park.
Other pedestrian-oriented work also included the construction of a tunnel under the highway at Little Coyote Road, and a bridge over the West Fork—where pedestrians previously needed to hug guardrails on a curved, two-lane bridge.
This summer’s construction started late. Originally scheduled to begin in mid-May, the work didn’t begin until June 5 due to weather holding up the contractor’s projects across the state.
Project Manager Cale Fisher with Missoula-based Riverside Contracting told EBS that the crews worked as efficiently as possible to catch up.
“When we went into this, originally our plan was to get all the schedule completed minus the chip sealing,” Fisher said. “We were really close to being able to achieve that, even with the late start.”
Scharf said Big Sky’s short construction season is challenging, but she was “very impressed” by Riverside Contracting for pushing to complete so many projects in a short season.
Fisher said strong collaboration with Danielle’s team helped overcome day-to-day challenges. Additional complications included housing availability and Big Sky’s location.
“There’s not a lot of availability of housing for our people. We were renting townhouses for them, kinda where we could,” Fisher explained. “And the amount of traffic that you have utilizing Montana 64 and the 191 corridor makes it a challenge… Because the resources that we need [like gravel and asphalt materials] are not readily available… That’s all coming from Belgrade, and it requires a lot of trucking.”
Scharf thanked the Big Sky Resort Area District, both Gallatin and Madison counties, and MDT for coming together to provide the final funding needed for this project.
“It was pretty great to see the partnership,” she said.
Daniel Bierschwale, executive director of BSRAD, said this partnership with MDT opens doors for the future. Montana 64 is an auxiliary or off-system route for MDT, but the successful procurement of federal TIGER funding sets a new precedent for road maintenance. In the past, Montana 64 was “a neglected road that has been one way in, one way out, over the course of multiple decades,” Bierschwale summarized.
Scharf pointed out that as an unincorporated community, Big Sky doesn’t have a government to move things forward.
“You’re kind of dependent on the county and MDT,” she said.
However, Bierschwale said this recent federal, regional and local partnership allows Big Sky “[to] work together to plan for the road’s future, ensure that it’s safe, effective and well thought out as we move into the next iteration of Montana 64’s future.”
An important next step will be to figure out the connectivity and safety of U.S. 191 and MT 64.
“That’s going to be really important,” Bierschwale said.
Separate from TIGER grant work, MDT continues to collaborate with local and county leaders to improve the 191 corridor and Highway 64. On Oct. 4, representatives explained MDT’s unprecedented “context sensitive” planning approach at the joint county commission meeting in Big Sky.
2024: a smaller TIGER
TIGER grant construction will wrap up next summer. Remaining work will require some temporary lane closures, although delays should be much less significant than delays from this year’s paving operations.
“We’re definitely through the hardest part of it in terms of the traffic impacts, so that’s good news,” Scharf told EBS.
She also expects a shorter overall duration of next summer’s work. Crews will try to start as early as weather allows in the spring, and final steps—chip sealing and final pavement markings—should be completed in August.
At the joint county commission meeting, Scharf explained why chip sealing wasn’t completed as construction activity and total traffic began to wind down in September:
“We have really specific temperature requirements for the chip seal,” Scharf said. “So we can’t do that this fall, it will have to happen… between May and August. So that was always the contractor’s plan [to] come back for that the second season.”
The only project that didn’t start as planned this summer was construction near U.S. Highway 191. Those improvements will include bus pull-outs, vehicle pull-outs for wildlife viewing, elimination of gravel shoulder parking with extended curb and gutter, and signage improvements. That project will take priority next summer.
Fisher agreed that the bulk of disruptions were completed this summer, but warned that drivers will need to be “cognizant and patient” during a few slow moments near the 191 intersection.
“There are gonna be times that traffic gets backed up,” Fisher said. “And that’s not what we’re trying to do. We’re not trying to make anyone late to work or school… We’ve also got haul trucks waiting in line trying to get to the project. We do our best to keep traffic moving as efficiently as possible.”
Fisher also recognized the courtesy of Big Sky drivers during this past summer.
“People would stop on 64 and let people in or out,” he said. “I think there was a good mindful presence of the road users during construction.”
Pedestrian redundancy?
With the new stoplight, some community members may wonder why an expensive tunnel was constructed almost directly beneath a pedestrian crosswalk. Scharf explained that the tunnel has always been part of the Big Sky Community Organization’s vision for the overall connectivity of pathways—more recent data showed that a traffic signal was also warranted near the same location.
“The tunnel is a project that dates back for years. Stahley [Engineering] had been involved with BSCO on that project 10 or more years ago… It was part of the TIGER grant application,” she said—an application filed by stakeholders including BSCO, the Big Sky Transportation District and the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce.
The traffic signal was not part of the original application. But in the years between submitting the application and designing the project, traffic volume had increased.
“It was suggested that we evaluate signal warrants again at Little Coyote and at Huntley [Drive],” Scharf said. Based on vehicle volume, Huntley Drive did not meet signal warrants, but Little Coyote Road did, and the entire project team agreed to pursue the stoplight.
“So, that’s how we ended up with both,” she said. “At the time we did discuss whether or not the tunnel should still be included, and BSCO… [was] pretty adamant that they did still indeed want the tunnel too—they did want both options for crossing the highway.”
Scharf said the crosswalk’s presence will only lengthen the red light when pedestrians push the button. She added that crossing the road is more A.D.A. accessible than the paved hill involved with using the tunnel.
Cutting corners
The new traffic signal may impact another issue: drivers cutting through Little Coyote Road. The shortcut phenomenon could gain popularity as the new stoplight helps drivers to turn left back onto Lone Mountain Trail toward Bozeman. Scharf said that will need to be monitored, and enforcement likely falls under jurisdiction of the Big Sky Owners Association.
Suzan Scott, executive director of BSOA, said the cut-through was a big problem during this past summer’s construction, especially with large construction trucks. Little Coyote Road is an un-striped, two-way residential street.
“That’s really, truly a huge disturbance for the neighborhood,” Scott said. “It’s a residential road, it’s not meant as a pass through.”
BSOA Project Manager Emma Lawler said safe traffic matters for the area’s children and animals.
This summer, traffic-monitoring technology showed a significant increase in speed violations at peak times, morning and evening. On five Wednesdays between July 24 and Sept. 3, more than 4,600 total vehicles drove one-way through Little Coyote.
“Our stance is that if the driver’s destination isn’t somewhere along Little Coyote Road, they should use the improved section of Montana 64,” Lawler said.
In September, the BSOA submitted an RFP to construct speed tables—trapezoid-shaped speed bumps with a flat top for snowplows—on Little Coyote Road. Lawler said it’s a shovel-ready project and the speed tables will be built as soon as BSOA finds the right contractor.
BSOA will also be adding signage to discourage through-traffic from using Little Coyote.
Although the cut-through is an issue, Scott isn’t sure if the new traffic light will make an impact.
“There’s certainly potential for that,” she said. “I guess we’ll just have to see what is going to result from that.” The BSOA will continue to collect its data.
Scharf and the construction team did hear concerns about the shortcut during construction. But as recent winters have shown, traffic can stack up even without lane closures and paving work.
Scott hopes to see an increased presence from Gallatin County Sheriff’s deputies. She understands they are short-staffed in Big Sky and recognizes their efforts, but believes more is needed to effectively manage speed on Little Coyote.
For now, the BSOA has installed two permanent, solar-powered driver feedback signs on Little Coyote Road. The signs show the driver’s speed, flashing if needed. BSOA will consider installing those signs on Andesite Road—where bikers share the roadway—and Beehive Basin Road.
Scott said that for community members wishing to support projects like this, BSOA operates a 501(c)3, Benefit Big Sky, and can accept donations online. She said speed tables are “quite costly” and without fundraising efforts, the burden falls on BSOA membership.
“When in reality, the whole community uses the community park. And the trails, the poop chute and beehive basin trail.”
Scott added that the turn lanes and traffic lights on Highway 64 are going to improve traffic.
“We’re looking forward to all of that being up and running,” she said.
