Missoula-Lolo Road Resurfacing: Project Manager Reveals Story

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - I spoke to Montana Department of Transportation Project Manager Dean DeCarlo last spring just before the major resurfacing project between Missoula and Lolo began, who provided valuable information on what commuters could expect during the project.

This week, with the work completed and the smooth even roadway carrying more vehicles than ever, I spoke with DeCarlo for an after-project report.

He said the public seems pleased.

MDOT Project Manager Pleased with Missoula to Lolo Project

“I think, generally speaking, the public has taken to it quite positively,” began DeCarlo. “We have received a really fair amount, maybe even better than a fair amount of positive feedback from the public about the overall construction during construction and, of course, the finished product.”

DeCarlo described the major challenges faced during the multi-million dollar project.

“The majority of challenges that we faced, honestly had everything to do with the traffic and the traffic volumes that U.S. 93 between Lolo and Missoula carries on a daily basis, knowing that we were left with trying to figure out what were the best peak commute hours that we could avoid and still keep the project on schedule, that was our biggest challenge, and so that's why most of the work took place during the night.”

DeCarlo Said There Were Only Three Accidents During Construction

DeCarlo said three traffic accidents occurred during the project.

“There were three separate car accidents,” he said. “There were two single car accidents, and then one pile up that actually took place during the day, when I think we had some striping occurring. One of the first questions we ask ourselves once we hear of an accident in the work zone is, did the work zone traffic control in any part contribute to the accident? If the answer to that is yes, then that places us in a bad light and in a bad situation legally, so when we were able to determine that the answer to that question was no, that gave us a little bit of confidence to move forward with figuring out what happened and why did it happen, and how could, how possibly could it have been prevented?”

US 93 Between Missoula and Lolo Carries Over 30,000 Vehicles Per Day

Looking back, DeCarlo said considering the massive number of vehicles that use the highway between Missoula and Lolo, he and his staff were happy with the results.

“The average daily traffic volume is prodigious between Lolo and Missoula every day,” he said. “I think the last I looked was somewhere near 30,000 vehicles per day. Because this was something of a unique contract, a unique stretch of road, in fact, I’ve even heard that this stretch of road is considered one of the most dangerous in western Montana.”