County requests speed study on Highway 200 east of Lincoln

Heading east out of Lincoln, the speed limit on Highway 200 jumps up to 70 mph, with a passing zone that stretches from the Blackfoot Valley Bible Church to the Lincoln Ranger Station, but with increased traffic and more people discovering Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild, concerns about safety have grown amid recent accidents and near misses.

The issue had been a concern for the BPSW board since the sculpture park's inception, and a recent analysis of visitation to the park between September 2016 and August 2020 bolstered the argument for a special speed zone by the sculpture park. In those four years, an estimated 135,000 people visited the park, accounting for a total of nearly a quarter million trips into and out of the park.

With that in mind, Lewis and Clark County Public Works Director Eric Griffin sent a letter to Jim Wingerter, the Administrator for the Montana Department of Transportation Great Falls District requesting a speed study for the stretch of highway.

Under state law, only a local authority – in Lincoln's case Lewis and Clark County - can request MDT to conduct an engineering and traffic investigation, if there's a belief the speed limit on a highway under MDT's jurisdiction is "greater than is reasonable or safe."

"Traffic patterns are constantly changing in the community of Lincoln, specifically on the East end of town with the Forest Service complex and the new Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild Park," Griffin wrote. Citing the increased traffic at the sculpture park, as well as an earlier letter from Lincoln District Ranger Michael Stansberry addressing safety concerns, Griffin requested the elimination of the passing zone and that the 70 mph speed zone be moved to the east of the Forest Service compound.

The presence of the passing zone combined with the increased speed limit right at the edge of town appears be the root cause of most of the issues, and Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance President Aaron Birkholz said its "125 percent important" to make the changes Griffin is requesting.

"I notice you have a lot of people who start off slow and then go, but then you have people who gun it and by the time they're up to 80 miles an hour, they're slamming into somebody, T-boning them as they're pulling into the sculpture park," he said.

Although Birkholz said there have been four accidents on that stretch of road in the last 3 to 4 years, BPSW president Becky Garland said she's seen a lot of near misses. Garland, who spends a lot of time at the sculpture park said she's nearly been hit several times by passing cars as she's started to make the turn into the park driveway.

"In my years here, I've seen increased traffic, not only as people come to see the Forest Service, but at the sculpture park," Stansberry told the BVD. He's had two Forest Service employees involved in separate accidents as they turned into the ranger station, including a vehicle that was rear-ended by a van just a few weeks ago.

"To somebody leaving town, they see that straight-away and really don't understand there are two busy interchanges there," Stansberry pointed out.

After an accident in 2017, he wrote to MDT with possible solutions, from turn lanes at the ranger station and the sculpture park, to a no passing zone to a speed reduction. He said the effort didn't get any traction.

BPSW has added a new dimension to the problem, but Pastor Art McCafferty, who has been minister of the Blackfoot Valley Bible church for 23 years, said it's not a new issue.

"During these years I have personally experienced many close calls on the highway in front of the church and seen other accidents happen right before my eyes," he said.

McCafferty said the accidents result from drivers heading in both directions. Those heading west are often still gong 70 mph as they pass the church. "If someone is pulling out and turning toward town, suddenly cars or trucks are climbing up their bumper out of nowhere," he said.

Those heading east, on the other hand, often try to pass as soon as possible, not realizing some cars may be turning into the church.

Birkholz believes moving the sped zones further out will also have the effect of slowing people down further outside of town, rather than slamming on their brakes as they come to the school zone. Jason and Tiana Valler echoed his sentiment, saying it might slow down big rigs earlier.

"They start Jake braking right at the church and they keep going, right through town," Tiana said.

Jason said the state not only needs to move the speed limits out, but needs to get some enforcement by the Highway Patrol here as well. Lincoln has been without a resident MHP trooper since last fall.

In the end, the decision will rest with the Montana Transportation Commission, which has sole jurisdiction over speed limits and special speed zones on highways in Montana, including federal-aid highways like Highway 200, which is part of the National Highway system.

According to the MDT website, speed studies take 9-12 months, to allow for data collection and comment.

Speed determination is based on a number of factors. The 85th percentile speed is generally the starting point. 85th percentile speed is defined as the speed at which 85 percent of free-flowing traffic is traveling at or below during ideal conditions. Roadside development and cultural and roadside friction, crash history over 36 months, parking and pedestrians, road surface and shoulder conditions, sight distance and hazardous locations are also taken into account.