Krista Corner Havre Daily News kcorner@havredailynews.com
The Montana Department of Transportation may resurface Fifth Avenue next year. MDT is looking for public comment on a proposal to resurface about two miles of Fifth Avenue in Havre from the First Street intersection to the city limit. Havre Mayor Bob Rice said today the the timing of the project isn’t great. “The timing probably isn’t ideal with the Highway 2 Project,” he said. MDT district administrator Mick Johnson today agreed that the timing isn’t perfect for Havre motorists and travelers, but said the project is a fairly minor one. The project, set to begin next summer, may last only a month and won’t take longer than two months. The work will include milling and overlaying the existing roadway, improving handicapaccessible curb ramps at intersections, chip sealing the surface, and the addition of new signs and pavement markings. Rice said the project will be positive for Havre if the MDT moves forward with it. “It will replace the (Americans with Disabilities Act) ramps along Fifth Avenue and it will be good for Havre,” he said. Rice said the timing of the project could change, so he’s waiting to see if it goes forward next summer when crews likely will be in the midst of the massive First Street reconstruction project. “Right now to me, (the project) is on the books, but it’s not totally confirmed,” he said.
MDT next spring will begin a huge reconstruction project stretching 33 blocks along First Street, one that is considered to be the largest urban project the department has ever undertaken. Workers will replace water and sewer lines beneath the roadway, resurface First Street, and add new sidewalks, lighting and landscaping. The project is estimated to cost more than $20 million. City, county and state officials have pledged to work as closely as possible with business owners in Havre as the project moves forward. If new right of way or relocation of utilities is required for the Fifth Avenue project, MDT staff will contact affected property owners once before doing survey work and again before engaging in construction to discuss property acquisition and construction permits. “Sometimes when putting on the (ADA) corners, we need a little right of way,” Johnson said. He said he thinks the department won’t need the extra right of way.
