GREAT FALLS — A Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) construction project on 6th Street Southwest has prompted frustration from local business owners after a northbound lane closure cut off a major access point for customers.
Kevin Smith, owner of Karma Coffee Brewing, said his business has seen a significant drop in revenue since the northbound lane was fully closed from Country Club Boulevard (10th Avenue South) at the Fox Farm intersection.
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“No, they weren't supposed to block off a road at all,” Smith said. “There was supposed to be a northbound access at all times. And I guess they changed their contract. And now nobody can get to us from 10th Avenue South.”
Smith said the closure came without sufficient notice.
“We saw the road signs and reached out to them, and I guess they decided to shut it down just so they could work a little faster,” he said. “Last I checked, we were down about 60% revenue from even last week, and about 40% from the same time last year.”
Krista Smith, who helps manage Karma Coffee, said the closure coincided with one of the busiest weeks of the year: the Montana State Fair.
“The issue is that the project changed and no one consulted anyone that's involved from our side of things,” she said. “That means no one can get through during that time, and most of the business for Karma Coffee comes off 10th Avenue South going northbound."
She said MDT provided only one communication before construction began.
“The only contact that we've had is on the first day of construction on April 23,” she said. “We were not notified of the change. This northbound lane being closed … had we been notified, we could have made some plans. We could have rented a food trailer and gone off site if needed.”
Per the original bid proposal and contract reviewed by MTN News, construction crews and MDT had planned to maintain northbound and southbound traffic throughout the duration of the project.
MDT Great Falls District Administrator Jim Wingerter said the contractor, Ti-Zack Concrete, approached the agency with a plan to speed up the project, which was originally scheduled to run until mid-October.
“Our contractor came to us here a couple months ago. We had 40 days to get that work done. We required an open lane both northbound and southbound,” Wingerter said. “They presented a plan to us to reduce that down to 20 to 25 days. And we decided to make that change and get them in and out of there as fast as we can.”
Wingerter said safety and efficiency were the primary factors.
“To maintain one lane through a very narrow construction zone … it put our crews and drivers at risk,” he said. “There were a lot of advantages to this plan. But as much as we try to accommodate our businesses, sometimes we just have to make a decision that’s best for the project and the community as a whole.”
Wingerter urged the public to continue supporting businesses affected by the closure.
“They’re still open for business. There are still ways to get to those businesses,” he said. “I would ask folks in the community to support those businesses as you have in the past — and if you haven’t in the past, maybe stop in and find out who they are and what they do.”
The northbound lane closure is expected to wrap up by Sunday. At that time, the southbound lane will close until Aug. 12. MDT now expects the entire project to finish by early to mid-September, weeks ahead of the original mid-October timeline.
Krista Smith said community support has made a difference.
“Our community is so amazing,” she said. “I put it up on Facebook what was happening, and we have seen so many faces today — people we’ve known for years and new faces. We could not appreciate them more.”
This article was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI.
