2nd Missoula Long Range Transportation Plan Summit Set for Next Week – Addresses Comments, Frustrations and Roadway Congestion

An update to Missoula’s Long Range Transportation Plan is ready for review. Transportation Planning Division Manager Jessica Morris said the second summit will be held next Tuesday, May 24, on the 2^nd floor of the Missoula Children’s Theater.

"It's a transportation plan that we have to do every four years during about the middle part of the transportation plan update," Morris said. "We kicked it off back in November with a couple of big public meetings. We received over 700 comments back from the public about transportation issues, priorities and recognition."

Morris said across the board and nationwide, the public is most interested in transportation safety and maintenance, as well as frustrations with congestion.

One project in the works to address that issue will be on Russell Street.

"That project has been about 20 years in the making and by the time it's all said and done will be about $50 million or more," Morris said. "The trouble we have with roadway expansion is that it takes a long time to get there and it costs a lot of money. It's a lot of money that we don't necessarily have."

Madison and Higgins Street bridges are also going “under the knife,” so to speak. Morris said both of those bridges, being built in the ‘50s, are past their “useful life.”

Looking to the future, Morris said construction will be a big financial challenge.

The summit will begin at 5:30 p.m.