Libby Dam Recreation Area Update
June 27 Update
- Floating platform is in and loaner lifejackets are in place. Follow rules posted.
- Wear a lifejacket – The sun is hot, but the water is not! (57 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Sorry, No fireworks on federal lands. No drones near dams.
- Dogs on a leash, please!
- Campgrounds: It’s only fair if you are there. Don’t leave your stuff unattended.
- Visitor Center is closed, No Dam Tours at this time.
- Visitor Center Staff are out and about and will assist you
with outdoor bookstore. - Brochures, maps and information are available outside the Visitor Center.
- Souse Gulch picnic shelters are open on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Please be mindful of social distancing and other required
COVID-safety precautions on Federal property. - Keep it clean! Leave things better than you found them. Be kind.
- Please do not park on the grass, it’s a fire hazard!
- Campfires must be dead out before leaving the area.
No Firewood cutting onsite. - Citations (tickets) will be issued if posted rules and restrictions are not
followed. See full text of Title 36 CFR,
and additional restrictions on the bulletin boards.
Questions? Contact the Libby Dam Visitor Center at 406-293-5577.
Heat Wave forecast June 27- July 2,
Highs 101 to 109 F, Lows 61-66 F !!!
Water is available (hose) near the boat ramp and playground in Souse Gulch.
Stay hydrated, seek shade,
monitor children, elderly
and those needing assistance.
Low Noise Centerline Rumble Strip Construction in
Full Swing in Lincoln and Flathead Counties
Kalispell, Mont. –– The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) is currently
installing low noise centerline rumble strips on highways in Western Montana. Flathead, Lake, and Lincoln counties are currently seeing construction. Rumble strip installation in Mineral, Missoula, Ravalli, and Sanders Counties was completed this spring. Lake, Ravalli, and Sanders Counties will also see roadside improvement work, with MDT updating signs and shoulder rumble strips.
Traditional rumble strips are grooves in the pavement that produce a rumbling noise and vibration when a vehicle drives over the strip. Shoulder rumble strips have been utilized on Montana’s highways for decades to alert drivers veering off the side
of the road. Low noise rumble strips are now being installed along the centerline of
undivided roadways to continue improving the safety of Montana’s highways. Low-noise rumble strips still cause noise and vibration to alert the driver. Yet, they are much less audible outside the vehicle, making them less disruptive to people living along
highways.
“We’re pleased to continue the project in Flathead and Lincoln Counties this
summer and continue installing a necessary safety measure across Western Montana
highways,” said John Schmidt, construction engineer for the district. “The technology of rumble strips has greatly improved, allowing for a much quieter experience for those in
the vicinity of the strips, yet they are just as effective as traditional rumble strips and a proven, cost-effective solution for reducing serious injury and fatal crashes.”
Low-noise rumble strips are designed to prevent roadway departure crashes,
particularly head-on and sideswipe crashes that occur when a vehicle crosses the centerline of an undivided highway into the oncoming lane of traffic.
Schmidt noted that studies from other states where rumble strip projects have been implemented showed a reduction in roadway departure crashes by as much as 42 percent and severe injury crashes by as much as 73 percent.
MDT is taking measures to be as efficient as possible to create as little disruption as possible during centerline rumble strip installations. The traveling public should expect construction on the following routes(*) in the next several weeks:
S 209 from the intersection with MT 35 to the intersection with MT 83
MT 83 from the intersection at MT 200 to the intersection at Junction 209
MT 56 from the intersection with MT 200 to the intersection with US 2
US 2 just east of Columbia Falls to one mile east of Snowslip
(*) Excluding urban areas with a speed limit lower than 45 mph
A map of the installation areas can be found here:
bit.ly/MissoulaCLRS_AreaMap.
Visit the project website here:
www.mdt.mt.gov/pubinvolve/missoulaclrs/
To sign up for construction newsletters, email Aly Russell at alyr@strategies360.com.
To sign up for SMS construction updates, text “rumble” to 406-223-1603.
Text alerts are not managed by MDT and may have different privacy and security policies. MDT will work through fall 2021 installing the low-noise centerline rumble strips, projecting to complete the installations this season.
Local Rotary Passes Gavel, ushers
in new year of servitude
Submitted by
Rotary Club of the Kootenai Valley
Tracy McNew and Bruce Wetherby pose for a photo after passing the gavel at Saturday, June 26.
(Courtesy Photo)
Every year on July 1, over 35,000 Rotary clubs worldwide celebrate a new year and each individual club marks passing the gavel to an incoming president in their own unique way. The Rotary Club of Kootenai
Valley (Libby and Troy) was chartered in 1967 and club members have been working to serve our community ever since. Rotary is a non-political, non-religious service organization that brings together business and professional leaders to
provide humanitarian service and advance peace and goodwill. Their motto is Service Above Self.
On Saturday, June 26, our local club held it’s pass the gavel event with a crawfish boil and members gathered in in the 100 degree heat to warmly welcome their new president, Bruce Weatherby and thank their outgoing president, Tracy McNew.
Rotary’s 2020-21 theme was Rotary Opens Opportunities, and club highlights included helping to bring lighting to Libby’s tennis courts, volunteering and
donating to the food pantry at Thanksgiving, hosting their Lil’ Anglers Fishing Day in May, ongoing collaborations in Guatemala to provide clean water, and awarding five $1,000 scholarships to local graduating seniors.
Rotary’s 2021-22 theme will be Serve to Change Lives. The club’s next event will honor Libby Public Schools’ employees for their commitment to students throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This will be done at a Copper Mountain Band concert held at the Memorial Center in conjunction with Kootenai Country Montana’s International Chainsaw Carving event on Sept. 11, 2021.
All Libby Public Schools’ employees will receive free admission to the concert. Weatherby is excited to take on leadership of the Rotary Club of Kootenai Valley for the next year, and he looks forward to serving the community.