VICTOR HIGHWAY 93 PROJECT:  A BRIEF HISTORY

 

 

Prepared By: Roger W. De Haan

July 30, 2012

 

It all started in 1992 when the Montana Highway Department published a letter of intent that they were going to study the possibility of building a new Highway 93 up the length of the Bitterroot. Official scoping meetings were held in 1992, 1993 and 1994 to assess public opinion and come up with a list of alternatives. The draft environmental impact statement for the project was released in 1996.

 

The Victor focus group’s involvement began around 1995 in Al Blair’s living room west of Victor. We knew that MDOT was taking input on the project and a group of interested citizens met to decide if Victor should form a formal group to participate and work with MDOT on the design. A Victor group was formed and began meeting regularly.

 

It was May 1997 that the final Environmental Impact Statement was released and that was when the work really started. The plan in the EIS was to pave 5 lanes of highway going through Victor, with no breaks literally from door step to door step between buildings on opposite sides of the highway. Many of our Victor highway businesses were built right on the edge of the right of way, which up until now had been a comfortable distance back from the highway.

 

The old Cantina La Cocina (now Cowboy Troy’s) actually had its main parking area between the old highway and the building with room to spare – but that was all going to disappear and become a 60 mph highway lane if the original plan were implemented.

 

The Victor group very quickly identified that our main concerns were to preserve and help the business community in Victor – both on and off the highway, to promote good access to Victor from both sides of the highway for vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists, and to try and slow the traffic through Victor so that it would be both safer and more encouraging for travelers to stop in for a while.

 

Mr. Bill Groff, the president of Farmer’s State Bank was our main liaison with MDOT in those early years. Dave Meadow and Gene Buroker were two of the main assistants and instigators. Many others too numerous to mention became involved as the design progressed, and we spent hours and hours in meetings and highway related activities for many years.

 

We achieved what we thought were major victories when we got MDOT to agree to install some major landscaping features along the new highway, to both make the town look nice but also to help slow the traffic down. Getting people across the highway easily and safely, and providing easy access for our businesses, were two major issues, and it took a concerted letter writing and phone calling campaign to get MDOT to agree to install the traffic light at Main Street. Bill Groff reminded us that there had always been a flashing yellow light at Main Street in Victor, until one night when a too tall truck snagged it and took it down, never to be replaced.

 

The ball field south of Victor was another major discussion point, as we wanted kids to be able to get there without having to get their parents to drive them. Thus the idea of a bike lane alongside the highway began which ultimately turned into a bike lane the full length of Highway 93 from Lolo to Hamilton. Because the bike lane was going to be on the west side of the highway, we still needed to get the kids across to the ball field, so after much lobbying, MDOT agreed to install an underpass under the highway from the bike path to the ball field.

 

This was an elegant solution which showed the willingness of MDOT to work with the community to make the highway more than just a way to get cars down the road quickly.

 

We learned that MDOT was willing to listen to our ideas to create a more attractive, slower moving and pedestrian and business friendly highway in Victor. They told us early on that they would be willing to incorporate some special design ideas (and spend the money to implement them), IF the community was willing to take care of the finished product.

 

So in 2002 the official Victor Park District was formed. On the ballot that year, the voters of Victor agreed to tax themselves $10 per year per household to support highway landscaping and other parks in Victor. Even though Victor had to wait until 2010 to see its section of the highway started, the Park District prepared the groundwork necessary to take care of the highway amenities once they were installed. The Park District also helps with the Victor Main Street project and the ball field.

 

Now, after 20 years of planning, Victor is beginning a new phase of making itself the most attractive little town along the highway. With the continued assistance of the many volunteers from the community, we look forward to enjoying the fruits of our labor for many years to come.