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Posted

Hyalite Road to be open for winter again

 

published on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 10:14 PM MDT

 

By BIG SKY NEWS SERVICE

 

Gallatin County road crews will plow Hyalite Road again this winter, opening the popular recreation area south of Bozeman for a host of cold-weather uses, U.S. Forest Service and county officials said Monday.

 

The agreement hatched last year will continue this year, with costs evenly split between Gallatin County and the Forest Service, Gallatin National Forest ranger Jose Castro said. Under the terms, the county's costs will not exceed $12,000.

 

Plowing the road up Hyalite Canyon proved to be wildly successful last year, Castro said, with 3,000 vehicles traveling up the road in February alone.

 

“Working this out for the public has been great,” he said.

 

County crews will head up the steep road only after all other road plowing has been taken care of, making the recreational area the county's last priority, said Lee Provance, county road superintendent.

 

 

Last year’s efforts to keep the road clear went smoothly, but Provance said he is concerned about the integrity of new guardrails in the winding canyon.

 

“I'm worried that we'll plow up the against them, then the snow freezes into an ice chunk and when we push more snow against it those things could start buckling,” he said. “They're only half the size of a normal post.”

 

The guardrails were installed to keep vehicles from slipping into Hyalite Creek, Castro said. Hyalite Reservoir provides about 40 percent of Bozeman's drinking water and the guardrails were built to protect the watershed from potential contamination.

 

In the county’s five-year agreement with the Forest Service to plow the road it has minimal liability for damage to the guardrails, deputy county attorney James Greenbaum said.

 

“It's too speculative to consider what might happen as far as damages and who might be responsible,” he said. “Obviously, the Gallatin County Road Department employs qualified persons skilled in snow removal. If it turns out the guardrails are damaged through no fault of the county, then we would not accept responsibility.”

 

Legal considerations aside, the partnership is beneficial to anyone interested in using the vast recreational area, from ice fishers to skiers and snowmobilers to ice climbers, County Commissioner Bill Murdock said.

 

“I think this great news for Gallatin County residents because they use the heck out of Hyalite Canyon in the winter,” he said. “It's a good partnership.”

 

For detailed winter use maps, visit the Gallatin National Forest Web site at fs.fed.us and click the 'Hyalite Canyon Winter Recreation 2009' link or call 587-6701.

Posted
Hyalite Road to be open for winter again

 

published on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 10:14 PM MDT

 

By BIG SKY NEWS SERVICE

 

Gallatin County road crews will plow Hyalite Road again this winter, opening the popular recreation area south of Bozeman for a host of cold-weather uses, U.S. Forest Service and county officials said Monday.

 

The agreement hatched last year will continue this year, with costs evenly split between Gallatin County and the Forest Service, Gallatin National Forest ranger Jose Castro said. Under the terms, the county's costs will not exceed $12,000.

 

Plowing the road up Hyalite Canyon proved to be wildly successful last year, Castro said, with 3,000 vehicles traveling up the road in February alone.

 

“Working this out for the public has been great,” he said.

 

County crews will head up the steep road only after all other road plowing has been taken care of, making the recreational area the county's last priority, said Lee Provance, county road superintendent.

 

 

Last year’s efforts to keep the road clear went smoothly, but Provance said he is concerned about the integrity of new guardrails in the winding canyon.

 

“I'm worried that we'll plow up the against them, then the snow freezes into an ice chunk and when we push more snow against it those things could start buckling,” he said. “They're only half the size of a normal post.”

 

The guardrails were installed to keep vehicles from slipping into Hyalite Creek, Castro said. Hyalite Reservoir provides about 40 percent of Bozeman's drinking water and the guardrails were built to protect the watershed from potential contamination.

 

In the county’s five-year agreement with the Forest Service to plow the road it has minimal liability for damage to the guardrails, deputy county attorney James Greenbaum said.

 

“It's too speculative to consider what might happen as far as damages and who might be responsible,” he said. “Obviously, the Gallatin County Road Department employs qualified persons skilled in snow removal. If it turns out the guardrails are damaged through no fault of the county, then we would not accept responsibility.”

 

Legal considerations aside, the partnership is beneficial to anyone interested in using the vast recreational area, from ice fishers to skiers and snowmobilers to ice climbers, County Commissioner Bill Murdock said.

 

“I think this great news for Gallatin County residents because they use the heck out of Hyalite Canyon in the winter,” he said. “It's a good partnership.”

 

For detailed winter use maps, visit the Gallatin National Forest Web site at fs.fed.us and click the 'Hyalite Canyon Winter Recreation 2009' link or call 587-6701.

 

Very cool! If you've given $$$ @ any of the PDX ice festivals the past few years running this is your $$$ at work :) Thanks! :tup:

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