Can Shiloh Land Dispute Be Settled Via Interchange? Access? Annexation?

Expansion. Access. Rights. Memorandum of understanding. Acquisition.

Sounds all like Middle East diplomacy.

But it's all about Shiloh Road, Belgrade, Montana.

Not my home village:

Interchange partners talk about land acquisition

Landowners crucial to the proposed Interstate 90 interchange project at Belgrade listened last week as engineers showed how the major transportation undertaking could affect their land.

“You’re holding a lot of cards and we have to negotiate,” Gallatin County Commissioner Bill Murdock told the owners. “We’re somewhat at your mercy.”

Murdock was talking to Knife River representatives and Tom Davis, who owns a large chunk of land between Alaska and Frank roads. The project is slated to run through a portion of the land owned by both entities.

Little was discussed as to the nuts and bolts of what right-of-way acquisition will cost local governments; the talk mostly revolved around the design of the new interchange. Both parties were largely concerned about access from area roads and how the project would affect potential development in the area.

Knife River representative Rich Allison said the company will annex 80 acres into Belgrade’s city limits that will go toward the city’s contribution to the project. In turn, the city will grant Knife River access to its infrastructure.

Under a memorandum of understanding, Gallatin County, the city of Belgrade and Gallatin Field airport are responsible for acquiring right of way for the project. Typically, the Montana Department of Transportation wants 120 feet of right of way to accommodate future road expansions.

The plan calls for expanding Alaska Road near the interchange to four lanes with a center turning lane and room for sidewalks, Morrison-Maierle engineers said. The road will shrink to four lanes under the interstate and nearby railroad tracks before opening back up again to access the airport.

The project calls for installing two roundabouts to control traffic at the bottoms of the ramps that access the interstate, engineers said. Using roundabouts similar to the I-90 Shiloh Road exit in Billings enabled designers to shorten the two overpasses and saved about $1 million...

That was illuminationg.

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