BOZEMAN — The sound of summertime in Bozeman often comes with construction, road closures and detours across town.
Starting next week, East Babcock Street downtown will be completely closed from Wilson Avenue to Rouse Avenue through Thursday, Aug. 20, raising concerns from some local business owners about how the work could affect customer access.
WATCH FULL STORY HERE:
If you’ve ever noticed the lacy numbers outside a storefront on South Tracy Avenue, you’ve likely seen Suelto Boutique, a longtime small business owned by Sherri.
“I’ve been here for 19 years, which makes me sound old,” Sherri said. “Definitely at this point in 19 years, I’m now fitting the children of the women I started with.”
After nearly two decades working downtown, Sherri said summers in Bozeman bring two things: tourists and construction.
“Last year we were shut down over the holiday, Labor Day, with construction all down Tracy through most of September,” she said.
Sherri said construction can directly impact downtown businesses.
“It takes up parking. People don’t want to come downtown to deal with it. When they block off the corner for pedestrians, sometimes people honestly can’t get through the sidewalks, so they’ll just bypass the street.”
City officials say drivers and pedestrians will still have some access during the Babcock Street closure.
“After normal work hours, we’ll open up all of the cross streets so you’ll be able to get from south to north across Babcock,” said Nick Ross, Bozeman’s director of transportation and engineering. “We’re also working with the contractor to hopefully open up one lane of Babcock overnight in order to allow better access through the work area.”
Ross said Babcock has been partially closed this past week for $150,000 worth of ADA and pedestrian safety improvements. Next week’s full closure will allow crews to complete paving work.
“In order to mill the street first and then overlay it with new asphalt pavement afterward,” Ross said.
Babcock is not the only area affected by construction.
A few miles south on Kagy Boulevard, work has been underway for several weeks, and additional closures are expected soon.
“Our Kagy sewer project is going to reach a really important milestone next week,” Ross said. “We will begin a full closure of the Kagy and Wilson and South 3rd intersection.”
Starting next week, South 3rd Avenue will be completely closed from Kagy Boulevard to West Graf Street. Ross said the closure is expected to last about a week as crews from Williams Construction work 24-hour shifts.
“To get all of the work done in the intersection before school is back in session,” Ross said. “And then that will be the end of the major traffic restrictions along that project.”
The sewer project has already caused disruptions in the area. One nearby resident shared photos showing flooding at their home after crews struck a water main during construction.
“Infrastructure has been built over such a long period of time, largely at times when note-taking and mapping were far below what we do today,” Ross said.
Ross said that unmarked utilities are sometimes discovered underground, and incidents such as water main breaks can occur despite careful planning. He said the work, while risky, remains essential.
“Water and sewer infrastructure is even harder,” Ross said. “It’s the stuff we don’t see, but it’s the fundamental type of infrastructure that allows our society to function.”
In addition to the upcoming closures on South 3rd Avenue and South Tracy Avenue, the City of Bozeman has issued the following travel advisories:
- Starting this week, there will be intermittent closures of the westbound left-turn lane from West Kagy Boulevard into the Museum of the Rockies’ (MOR) main entrance. During these closures, signs will be in place directing westbound MOR visitors to take South 7th Avenue into the museum’s staff parking lot and then follow the service drive to the visitor parking lot.
- Access to the business center at the corner of West Kagy Boulevard and South 3rd Avenue will remain available throughout construction.
- Pedestrians and bicyclists must follow all traffic control and posted signage. Barricades and other devices are in place to maintain worker and public safety.
A schedule for the E. Babcock closure is listed below:
August 17 & 18- Milling and prep for asphalt
August 19- Pave Babcock St.
August 20- Clean up and open the street
