West Broadway River Corridor Project
The public review period for the draft master plan concepts ended on November 25th. Thank you for all who provided feedback through the survey or by email. A summary of the results of the survey can be viewed here.
Project Overview
The West Broadway River Corridor Project aims to improve ecological, recreational, and safety conditions along the Clark Fork River between McCormick Park and the California Street Bridge. Project partners include the City's Parks and Recreation and Public Works and Mobility Departments, the Missoula Redevelopment Agency, Trout Unlimited, and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
The West Broadway River Corridor project's primary goals include:
Restore critical floodplain and riparian habitat.
Enhance recreation access.
Increase public safety.
Improve instream river conditions.
Design and execute a sustainable, holistic project.
You can read more about the project goals in the Memorandum of Understanding between the project partners here, and see results of a public survey about these goals from September 2023 here.
Project Planning AreaThe West Broadway River Corridor project includes the Clark Fork River, all riparian areas, adjacent trail connections, the entirety of West Broadway Island Natural Area and portions of Downtown Lions, Silvers, and McCormick Parks. Planning will involve thorough analyses of river hydraulics, hydrology, and ecology; a comprehensive understanding of how people currently use the project area; and anticipation of future recreational use trends. The West Broadway River Corridor project will implement and/or facilitate future implementation of features highlighted in these other area Master Plans. There is also the potential that final design of the West Broadway River Corridor master plan may require adaptations of adjacent area Master Plans within the planning area. |

2023-2024 Planning efforts included:
Conducting a public survey on the project goals (see results here)
Compiling relevant planning documents and GIS mapping.
Summarizing existing hydrologic and hydraulic data.
Evaluating survey and bathymetric data.
Identifying data gaps.
Conducting geomorphic and vegetation surveys.
Performing supplemental surveys.
Developing conceptual design alternatives.
Assessing feasibility and cost-benefit analysis.
Confirming permitting requirements.
Updating and prioritizing opportunities.
Preparing conceptual drawings.
The Draft Master Plan Concepts:
The public review period for the draft master plan concepts has ended. Thank you for all who provided feedback through the survey or by email. A summary of the results of the survey can be viewed here.
Before taking the survey, participants were asked to review the following information:
- Full public review package including existing conditions, concept plans, concept sections, and image board
- Existing Conditions
- Concept 1 - Concept 1 includes all of the basic components needed to meet the project goals. These basic components are also featured on Concepts 2 & 3. They include rebuilding the Silver Park boat ramp to improve function and safety; stabilizing and re-vegetating eroding portions of the South bank; removing non-natural debris in the river; removing all irrigation ditch infrastructure; re-vegetating side channel banks; and filling the ditch through Lions Park to improve connectivity to the adjacent riparian area. To improve trail connectivity on the North bank Concept 1 also includes building a protected on-street shared use path along the south side of Broadway Avenue between Burton Street – where Ron’s River Trail currently ends – East to the railroad bridge. Concept 1 depicts the least amount of change and would cost the least to build and maintain. The cost to build is estimated at $2-3 million.
- Concept 2 - Concept 2 includes all of the basic components needed to meet project goals AND includes additional improvements for river recreation, trail connectivity and wildlife habitat. On the North bank, the side channel is realigned farther from private property to allow for construction of an upland bench to accommodate an extension of Ron’s River Trail between Burton and Hawthorne streets. This paved commuter trail would connect to a new protected shared use path along the south side of Broadway Avenue east to the railroad bridge. Additional river recreation and habitat improvements include adding a class II rapid in the main channel; regrading the side channel to convey flows for the majority of the year to accommodate floater passage and to promote native vegetation. This concept also includes micro-grading on West Broadway Island to create wetland habitat. This concept would cost more to construct and maintain than Concept 1 but would cost less than Concept 3. The cost to build is estimated at $3-5 million.
- Concept 3 - Concept 3 includes all of the basic components needed to meet project goals and several components featured in Concept 2. Concept 3 also includes major trail improvements, a specialized recreational feature, and limitations on public access to protect habitat. Construction of a riparian bench with natural surface trails North of the side channel would increase recreational opportunities and riparian habitat. A specialized recreation feature, a river-surfing wave, is featured in the side channel. The side channel would be realigned, deepened and widened to capture year-round flow to support the wave feature and increase aquatic habitat complexity & diversity. The new channel geometry requires removal of the existing bridges to West Broadway Island. In order to prioritize habitat protection on the island and to limit fill within the floodplain no new bridges would be constructed. This concept would cost the most to construct but the cost to maintain may be similar to Concept 2. The cost to build is estimated at $5-7 million.
- Conceptual Cross Sections of all 3 concepts
- Image Board for all 3 concepts
Next steps include:
Creating a single draft master plan concept based on the feedback and project goals
Evaluating feasibility and cost of the draft master plan
Seeking public feedback on the draft master plan
Pursuing master plan adoption by the City and Partners Applying for outside grant funding
Project Goals
Restore critical floodplain and riparian habitat.
- Remove debris armoring banks, restore with natural materials.
- Plant native species at high density for quick revegetation.
- Increase seasonal side channels on Broadway Island.
- Mitigate current and future human impacts.
Enhance recreation access.
- Connect Downtown Lions Park by filling irrigation ditch.
- Protect existing bridges and trails on Broadway Island
- Evaluate improved mobility access.
- Connect north riverbank trails.
- Explore options for in-stream recreation features.
- Blend recreation access and river function.
Increase public safety.
- Mitigate bank erosion near stadium and trails.
- Increase visibility and activity in parks.
- Expand Silver Park boat ramp eddy.
- Consider flood protection.
- Improve floater passage.
Improve instream river conditions.
- Remove diversion structure, debris, and irrigation infrastructure.
- Restore 20-30 cubic feet per second (cfs) of flow to the Clark Fork River.
- Recontour the riverbed to improve habitat.
- Limit soil erosion into river.
Design and execute a sustainable, holistic project.
- Recognize environmental, recreational, and social equity benefits.
- Foster public-private collaboration on design, funding, and implementation.
- Enhance quality of life and economic prosperity.
- Consider funding, costs, and timeline to maximize benefits.
- Address long-term maintenance challenges
Have a question about the project?
This project is still in the early planning stages. The project partners have not yet found funding to carry out the plan. Funding could come from public-private partnerships, grants, donations, or other sources. Part of the planning process is to identify potential funding sources.
The conceptual master plan will go through a long public process and requires final approval from the City Council. If the plan needs City funding for implementation, the Council must approve that funding.
Please note: public comment is currently being accepted through the online survey through September 21. Questions asked here will be answered but are not tabulated as public comment.
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