He's worried there will soon be more.
With work gearing up on the multiyear project to tear down the dam and remove millions of yards of contaminated sediment from its reservoir, some residents are beginning to fret over the potential of more big dump trucks mixing with already heavy local traffic.
That's easier said than done.
On Thursday at the monthly Milltown Reservoir health and safety meeting, Danielle Bolan, a state traffic engineer with the Montana Department of Transportation, said changing a speed zone can take anywhere from six months to a year.
First there has to be a request by a local governing body. A traffic study follows, but that can take some time considering the department's staffing levels and the number of requests from all parts of the state. When that's all done, the Montana Transportation Commission makes the final decision.
The Missoula County Commission started the process when it sent a letter asking for the change a few weeks back.
Bolan couldn't offer any guarantees the process will move quickly.
“None of us want to be the first to lose a kid to trigger a traffic study,” said Jeff Patterson, a local member of the Sheriff's Posse and the Milltown Redevelopment Working Group. “We just don't think the laws are so stringent that MDT can't take a look at this. This is a special circumstance.
“We have the largest EPA Superfund project in the nation going on right here,” Patterson said.
The contractor charged with doing most of the cleanup work said he doubts there will be that much additional truck traffic throughout the life of the project.
Matt Fein, Envirocon's senior project director, estimates that most days there will be 20 or so trucks traveling local roads. During a few real busy times early in the project, the total could be closer to 54 for short periods, but that number will drop as time goes on.
“I think that additional traffic load seems to be pretty small as compared to the amount of traffic already there,” Fein said.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has also committed funds to help pay for pedestrian trails and a new pedestrian bridge to help keep walkers out of harm's way. The agency has also offered to pay for a new warning light at a pedestrian crossing near the school and for a pair of radar-controlled speed signs.
“We're not adverse to leaving a permanent legacy for the community as long as it's cost effective,” said Russ Forba, EPA's Milltown project manager. “We want to be able to help the community wherever we can. If it's cost effective, we want to participate.”
Safety is the bottom line for the community, Patterson said.
“It really doesn't matter how many trucks are using the road, as long as it's safe,” Patterson said. “I don't care if you run 20 trucks or 200, as long as there are no pedestrian and motor vehicle conflicts.”
There were a number of other updates on ongoing projects, including:
- Envirocon's important sediment dewatering test is going well. The water wells have been successful in dropping the water table underneath the layer of sediment. Fein said the company hopes to begin the excavation portion as soon as next week.
While arsenic levels in the groundwater were a bit higher than expected, the flow rate was less. On top of that, the river is much higher than normal, which provides for a higher dilution rate, Forba said.
“So far so good,” Fein said.
- Consultants have been hired to begin designing a 5.9-mile loop trail that will run from the Bonner School to the Turah Interstate 90 interchange and back down along Rustic Road. The design should be completed by March, with construction beginning around June.
Hopes are the first segment from Bonner to Piltzville will be completed before school begins next fall, said Peter Nielsen of the Missoula City-County Health Department.
The project is being paid for by the EPA and earmarked funds from this year's U.S. Transportation Bill.
- The Montana Department of Environmental Quality is sampling sediments in and around the cooling pond at Stimson Lumber Co. for PCBs in preparation for upcoming cleanup operations. The pond is separated from the Blackfoot River by a berm.
Keith Large, a DEQ mine waste cleanup bureau remediation specialist, said that some sediments sampled showed more than 50 parts per billion of PCBs. Any material over 50 ppb has to be taken to a repository in Idaho. The rest can be moved locally to BFI, Large said.
“PCBs are carcinogenic. It's nasty stuff,” Large said. “It's why we don't use it anymore.”
The PCBs were probably deposited into the pond back in the 1970s and '80s as the company discharged boiler water into the ponds, Large said.
“We need to address this before the spillway comes out, so it doesn't wash downstream when the river begins to move,” he said.
Cleanup work could begin as soon as next year.
Reporter Perry Backus can be reached at 523-5259 or at pbackus@missoulian.com
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