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Public works committee pauses review of Harrison Avenue trail tunnel as ownership, traffic study remain unresolved
Summary
The Silver Bow County Public Works Committee voted to hold communication 2024-544 after staff said the Montana Department of Transportation had not provided a traffic count; members also raised concerns about a rusted culvert and water entering the walking-trail tunnel under Harrison Avenue.
The Silver Bow County Public Works Committee on Tuesday held communication number 2024-544 — a request from District 2 Commissioner Michelle Shea for a status update on the walking-trail tunnel under Harrison Avenue south of Dickey's Barbecue — until staff can provide more information.
Mark Neary, Public Works staff, told the committee, “I reached out to Jim Pizzani today, and he still doesn't have any new information on the ... traffic study or traffic count at Harrison Avenue.” That traffic data, members said, is needed to judge crosswalk and pedestrian safety at the location.
The committee members discussed separate but related infrastructure concerns: rust on culverts that appear to be allowing water into the tunnel, and uncertainty about which agency is responsible for repairing those culverts. Neary said staff believed the culverts run under the state-owned road and that there is not currently an agreement assigning responsibility to the county.
Commissioner Trudy Healy raised the specific condition of the culvert and asked whether anyone had inspected it: “It was just an idea, whether the culvert itself could be repaired. Has anyone taken a look at it? Since it's rust that created a hole that's letting the water into the tunnel more water into the tunnel.” Committee discussion noted water is also entering the tunnel from the south and from other sources, complicating the immediate repair picture.
Committee members said the traffic count and traffic study are separate from the culvert-ownership question. The committee made a motion to hold the communication until further information is available; the motion, made by Commissioner Healy, was approved.
No timeline was provided for when MDT (Montana Department of Transportation) would supply the traffic data or when an ownership agreement for the culverts might be reached. The committee did not direct staff to begin repairs while the ownership question remains unresolved.
