HELENA — Maybe you know the intersection of Custer Ave. and Henderson St. in Helena from the traffic backups during the Last Chance Stampede and Fair, baseball tournaments and concerts. City officials have talked about turning that intersection into a roundabout, and viewer Magda asked—What’s the status of that project?
(WATCH: You Asked — What's the status of the Custer Ave.-Henderson St. roundabout?)
After about two years of work, the project is awaiting final plan approval.
“The roundabout is ahead of the game,” City of Helena transportation systems director David Knoepke said. “We pretty much have approved plans, once we have final approval, they’re shovel ready.”
With Ryan Fields on the west side of the intersection and the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds at the north end, traffic can get congested, especially during events. Knoepke said the planned roundabout is meant to keep traffic flowing.
“It’ll take some time to get used to, obviously, but I think it will be a much better and safer improvement down there than what we have right now,” he said.
The project is estimated to cost between $2.5 million and $3 million. The city is looking at grant funding for the project.
Knoepke said construction of the roundabout is expected to start in the next year or two.
The Henderson St.-Custer Ave roundabout is not the only project in the works for Custer Ave. Plans are also being made to redo the Custer Ave. corridor from Henderson St. to N. Montana Ave. That project will cost an estimated $30 million, and Knoepke said there is still a lot of planning work to do.
