From Old Railways to New Path
Developing the Critical Path Plan for Kalispell, Montana
Project Summary
Community: Kalispell, Montana
Technical Assistance: Strategic Action Plan
Former Use: Freight Rail Corridor
Future Use: Multipurpose Rail-Trail
In northwest Montana, the small city of Kalispell is nestled within
thousands of acres of scenic woodlands and lakes that provide
visitors with year-round outdoor recreational amenities, like
Glacier National Park.
Downtown Kalispell includes a 2-mile freight rail corridor that
once served multiple industries such as lumber mills and oil/gas
wholesalers. Land use around the tracks has shifted and now
only two businesses use the line, which has left several
neglected properties and a safety issue for pedestrian and bike
crossings.
Future trail will link Depot Park, shopping center, and new
senior housing community in a live-work-play setting.
Kalispell and its project partners developed a reuse plan for the
downtown Core Revitalization Area under a grant from U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Brownfields Area-Wide
Planning program. Additional grants from U.S. EPA, U.S.
Department of Transportation, U.S. Economic Development
Administration as well as local and regional resources further
supported their efforts to relocate the rail line and revitalize the
industrially-oriented area into a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly
neighborhood.
The Community's Challenge
With such a large and complex project underway, Kalispell found
they needed help navigating the trail conversion process.
EPA's Land Revitalization Technical Assistance
In 2018, EPA's Land Revitalization Program provided contractor
technical assistance to help Kalispell develop a plan for
converting the rail line into a multi-purpose bicycle and pedestrian
trail. After a one-day workshop and several work sessions with
key stakeholders and Kalispell staff, EPA's contractors prepared
a Critical Path Plan for the rail-to-trail conversion.
The Critical Path Plan included detailed action steps for each key
phase of the project (Planning and Design, Acquisition,
Construction, and Operation and Maintenance), with the goal of
operating a fully functioning trail 4-5 years after acquiring the
corridor.
Overview of the key steps in Critical Path Plan for
rail-trail development
The Critical Path Plan is helping the City realize its vision for safe
and enhanced pedestrian and bicycle access that connects the
community to regional trail networks and spurs additional
revitalization.
For more information, contact Stephanie Shen, EPA Region 8
Brownfields Program, at shen.stephanie@epa.gov.
United States
Environmental Protection
# * Agency
Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization
560-F-19-005-Q

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