County to scrape Basin Avenue down to standard

Frustration over Basin Avenue’s steep drop to the curb has reached a tipping point, and Jefferson County and the state of Montana plan to fix it.

County Commissioner Cory Kirsch said that the county has been working with the state Department of Transportation to reduce the harsh slope on Basin Avenue, which currently does not comply with standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The 800-foot-long stretch in question has a steep cross-slope from the center of the road, across the eastbound lane and down to the curb along the south side of the road, which creates problems for parking and snow removal, according to Department of Transportation District Administrator Bill Fogarty.

Fogarty said that Kirsch contacted the department about the issue in March 2020, and the department submitted a set of plans and designs with cost estimates to Kirsch in November 2020. Kirsch said the county needs almost $100,000 in funding to fix the road.