EAST HELENA — Valley Drive has been under construction this summer—viewer Jennifer Vieth wanted to know what was going on with the project and if it would be done in time for the first day of school. MTN reached out to Lewis and Clark County engineer Daniel Karlin to get the answer.
According to Karlin, the project is on track to be done for the year by Aug. 23. Paving work will start this week.
“They intend to start some of the smaller things Wednesday with the bulk of it happening Thursday and Friday,” Karlin said.
Karlin said the project spans about a mile on Valley Drive, from Plant Road North to Canyon Ferry Road. The goal is to accommodate increased traffic on Valley Drive.
“We went from about 2,000 vehicle trips on that road to about 6,000 vehicle trips on that road,” he said.
The road is being widened from two lanes to three—two travel lanes, a center turn lane and shoulders. Work was also done to the base of the road so it can carry heavier traffic.
Karlin said the entire project costs about $1.3 million.
This year’s work is scheduled to wrap up on Aug. 23, and crews will be back out on Valley Drive next summer to do chip seal work.
