Speed study east of Lincoln expanded

The Montana Department of Transportation has extended a speed study on Highway 200 east of Lincoln to include the intersection with Airport Road east of the Lincoln Ranger District.

Lewis and Clark County Public Works director Eric Griffin requested the study extension after members of the Lincoln Airport Foundation voiced support for including the intersection east of the Lincoln Ranger District.

In an e-mail to MDT's Aeronautics Division Administrator Tim Conway, LAF Vice President Terry Spath noted that many of the airport tenants who have hangars there have encountered speeding vehicles at the intersection. He also noted that numerous near misses have also been observed at the intersection with North Airport Road, which accesses a residential area north of Highway 200.

The original speed study request extended to just east of the ranger station entrance.

Both the 70 mph speed limit and a passing zone start just east of Lincoln, the combination of which has led to several accidents and near misses as visits to Blackfoot Pathways : Sculpture in the Wild and the Ranger District have increased in recent years.