Landowner Adds His Two Cents to Mullan Road Reconstruction

By Brenna Moore, 6-26-06

Earlier this month, New West covered the controversy surrounding the city and county of Missoula's plan to reconstruct Mullan Road. WGM Inc., the engineers of the project, drew up a design plan for the road and were met with less than satisfied reactions from the community. The developers and the community seem to differ on why this road is changing, and whether or not the change is the best thing for Missoula.

In May of last year, landowner and rancher Mike Flynn, along with Shelter West, Inc. revealed their plan to develop a 545-house subdivision in the area surrounding Mullan Road and George Elmer Drive. The community claims that the need for construction has to do with making the subdivison more accessible from the road, but Flynn and Shelter West, Inc. say the change must happen in order to accomodate the continuous growth taking place in Missoula.

Flynn said he thought the new design for the road had to do with the possibility of the subdivision, but "has to do more so with the county approved road grid plan and the future development of the property growth west of Reserve Street," he said.

Flynn didn't deny the desire for a 545-house subdivision in the area, but he said change was inevitable in dealing with growth in Missoula. He said the county and city of Missoula has been studying the Wye Mullan Comprehensive Plan for years, and by putting the Road Grid plan into action and reconstructing what needs to be changed, the Wye Mullan plan can be realized.

Flynn was hopeful about finding a solution that benefits everyone.

"I'm not an enginneer, but the engineers for the State of Montana and the engineers for the developers, I'm sure they're capable of designing a road," he said, one that is satisfactory for everyone involved, Flynn said.

Click here to read the full story from earlier this month. [End of article]