26 September 2016
Two Mile Drive’s single sidewalk bypass bridge
Two Mile Drive’s bridge over the westside Kalispell bypass opened at the end of last week. It’s not finished — the approaches are neither paved nor equipped with guardrails — but it’s a welcome relief from the quarter-mile detour that twisted around the bridge site.
I walked the area late Sunday afternoon, photographing the bridge’s status as well as the status of the bicycle path along the bypass.
So far, only the north side of the bridge has a sidewalk. That’s not an issue for pedestrians walking east along Two Mile, but pedestrians walking west will have to cross the road to use the sidewalk, and then cross the road again to return to the left side of Two Mile.
South of the Two Mile bridge, the bypass curves sharply to the east before intersecting with Highway 2.
The bicycle path is on the east side of the bypass, and appears to pass directly under the Two Mile bridge. I don’t think there’s a way to reach the bicycle path from the bridge (but there should be a way).
North of the Two Mile bridge, the bicycle path slopes up to Three Mile Drive.
A bicyclist, trespassing but doing no harm, speeds south on the bypass.
At the end of civil twilight, streetlights north of the Two Mile bridge turn on. On the Three Mile bridge, where this shot was taken, the streetlights are high pressure sodium. But the bypass lights seem whiter and may be 4100°K LEDs.
The bridge, bypass, and parked equipment waiting to get in gear Monday.