Helena rebuilds transfer station entrance to ease traffic congestion

Helena is rebuilding the narrow entrance to its transfer station after years of backups, tight turns and safety problems at one of the city’s busiest public facilities. Public works director Ryan Leland said the entrance has needed attention for more than a decade, and the city is now widening the driving lanes and softening the turn so cars, pickups and larger trucks are not fighting for the same space at the same pinch point.

The work began April 27 at 1975 N Benton Ave, where the City of Helena Solid Waste Division operates the transfer station for residential and commercial garbage disposal and permitting. The city said the project is expected to take about 60 days, weather permitting. Minor traffic restrictions were expected during construction, but no closures were planned at the start.

The entrance serves roughly 300 to 400 vehicles a day, or about 180,000 a year, making even small delays visible to residents, contractors and landscapers who rely on the site for routine loads. Leland said traffic movements around the entrance have produced conflicts involving semis and other vehicles crossing lanes, and over the years the city has seen near-misses and collisions there. That has turned a basic access point into a daily safety issue, not just a congestion problem.

The redesign includes a new curb that extends the turning lanes, a dedicated after-hours drop-off area for items such as cans, glass and paper, and an additional exit tied to the Carroll College parking lot. That extra outlet is meant to make leaving easier when the area gets busier, especially during larger events in the Benton Avenue corridor near the fairgrounds. Carroll College is only a few blocks from downtown Helena and launched a southwest-corner landscape enhancement project in July 2023, adding another layer of change to the surrounding traffic pattern.

The roughly $400,000 project is being paid for through transfer-station usage fees, not a separate citywide tax or bond. City fee documents show Helena uses a pay-as-you-throw system for transfer-station customers, with tipping-fee and permit-based charges for city and county residents. For Lewis and Clark County residents who use the site often, the upgrade is intended to do something simple but consequential: keep garbage runs moving, reduce backups at the gate and make a heavily used city service safer to enter and leave.