Various Projects Getting Underway on the Flathead National Forest

Forest users may encounter road work in the upcoming weeks on a few districts and are encouraged to slow down and be patient when in work zones or find alternative routes whenever possible. Projects include chip-sealing, installing culverts, and road construction. Work must be accomplished during the summer to ensure best weather conditions, which coincides with heaviest visitor use.

Hungry Horse District - Travelers on the West-side Hungry Horse Reservoir Road, National Forest System Road (NFSR) #895, will encounter extended delays on Wednesday, July 25 and Thursday, July 26, 2012, weather dependent. The pavement will be chip-sealed from the Hungry Horse Dam to Lid Creek. This is the final phase of the NFSR #895 Reconstruction/Repaving American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Project.

For more information, please contact the Hungry Horse – Glacier View Ranger District at 406-387-3800.


Swan Lake District - The Piper Creek crossing of the Swan River will be closed on July 25, 2012. Contractors will be installing a large culvert. The road will be closed to through traffic for most of the day. Travelers can take alternate routes via the Peck Lake Road NFSR #888 or the Fatty Creek Loop NFSR #10381. The culvert is part of the work needed for the construction of a new bridge across the Swan River which also involves structural excavation, roadway embankment, backfill compaction, and creating a path for river access and launching small boats or rafts.

Reconstruction work on the Peck Lake Rd NFSR #888 and Jim Lakes Road NFSR #9568 is scheduled to begin Monday, July 30, 2012, weather permitting. The Peck Lake Road will be closed during the week of July 30 to August 3 as an existing pipe is replaced with a larger one. This is located on the northern portion of the connector road between Piper Creek and Cold Creek Roads and affects access to private lands and residences in the area.

Beginning the week of August 6, 2012, contractors will replace two existing bridges on the North Fork of Cold Creek on Jim Lakes Road. This involves replacing the existing wooden bridges with precast concrete bridges. The Jim Lakes Road will likely remain closed for the entire month of August. This will affect access into the Mission Mountain Wilderness via the Jim Lakes Basin and the North Fork of Cold Creek trailheads.

For more information, please contact the Swan Lake Ranger District at 406-837-7500.



Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com