MISSOULA — After years of planning and with concerns over traffic growing, the intersection at Orange Street and Cregg Lane will finally get a signal.
The Missoula City Council gave the project a go-ahead this week by awarding a $477,000 construction bid to Jag Construction.
“Construction could begin as early as the end of this month,” said Ryan Guelff, the city's transportation engineer. “We have a substantial completion date set for for Sept. 6. We've coordinated closely with the Montana Department of Transportation throughout this process to minimize traffic impacts the best we can.”
In 2023, the city explored a number of potential arrangements for the intersection, which has seen an increase in traffic as the Old Sawmill District fills in. Among them, a roundabout was considered but ultimately eliminated due to its $4 million estimated cost.
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Some have also pushed for a lane reduction on Orange Street, though that too isn't likely due to the corridor's traffic volume and the need to serve truck traffic and other industrial loads.
“There isn't a plan to do a road diet on Orange Street similar to Higgins,” said Guelff. “There are some similarities and there are some differences. Orange Street serves a higher traffic volume.”
The city issued bid proposals for the intersection back in 2024. Jag Construction was the lowest bidder and came in roughly $96,000 below the engineer's estimate. The project will be funded by impact fees and funds contributed by the Old Sawmill District developers.
“This is a needed and long-awaited project,” said council member Mirtha Becerra.
