Why would a city pull out raised concrete medians on a primary east-west route and put down paint and plastic posts in their place? This month on Kagy Boulevard, that's what crews are doing. The City of Bozeman's street report for the week of October 11 says crews are "striping the roadway and placing temporary delineators on Kagy Ave where the raised medians previously existed." The next sentence of that report explains why. The Montana Department of Transportation plans to reconstruct a section of Kagy next year and "will rebuild the medians as part of the reconstruction project."
So the Kagy you're driving this fall is an in-between road, and that's by design. Two separate agencies are passing one corridor back and forth. They've timed their work so the pavement gets torn up once and the medians get poured once.
Paint and Plastic, Because Concrete Would Be Wasted
The delineators sit where the medians stood because of the City's West Kagy to Babcock Sewer Improvements project. Its first stretch runs mainly along West Kagy between South Tracy Avenue and South 7th Avenue, near Montana State University. Williams Civil Construction is building it. The City has said road restoration at the end of this phase means temporary paving and traffic control as the work wraps up for winter.
Rebuilding permanent medians now would mean pouring concrete that MDT would break up within months. MDT's plan for Kagy from South 19th Avenue to Willson Avenue includes a center median and turning lanes as part of a full reconstruction. The temporary striping just covers the gap between the two jobs.
Why the Sewer Had to Go First
According to the City's capital projects page, the sewer project replaces aging sewer transmission pipelines to keep the system reliable in southwest Bozeman. When the City announced the project on July 20, City Engineer Emiliano Esparza said the upgrades also address capacity needs tied in part to MSU enrollment growth, and that they're meant to serve the system for decades.
MDT gives the same reason for the road. Its project overview says south Bozeman has grown significantly in recent years and expects that growth to continue as MSU enrollment and housing demand increase. It calls Kagy "a primary east-west regional route." The pipe under the road and the lanes on top of it are being rebuilt for the same growth. Because of that, the two agencies have tied their schedules together.
The sewer project's Phase 2 replaces the transmission pipelines between the two Phase 1 work areas, and the City says it begins only after MDT finishes the Kagy reconstruction. The City is digging this fall, stepping aside for MDT's rebuild, and coming back for the rest of the pipe afterward.
The Order of Work, From Now Into 2027
Here is the sequence as the City and MDT have published it, current as of the October 11 street report and MDT's September 25 update. Weather can move any of these dates.
- Mid-October. South Tracy Avenue is closed from the south side of the Kagy/Tracy intersection to Spring Creek Drive. It was expected to fully reopen by October 20, weather permitting.
- Late October. The City expects this phase of the sewer work to wrap up, weather and other factors permitting. The capital projects page gives a wider window and says this stretch should be finished by November 2026.
- This fall or spring 2027. Sewer work moves to a residential area near Cooper Park, between West College and West Babcock Streets. The City's August 10 release called this phase "tentatively planned for spring 2027." By the October 11 street report, the City said it "could start as early as this fall."
- November 18, 2026. MDT holds a pre-construction open house for the Kagy rebuild.
- Late 2026. Preparatory work, including utility relocations, is tentatively scheduled to begin. MDT expects minimal traffic disruption until roadwork starts.
- Spring 2027. Roadwork on Kagy begins, depending on design completion, weather, and unforeseen factors.
- After the rebuild. The City returns for sewer Phase 2.
MDT is using a design-build contract, with final design and construction under one contract held by CK May Excavating and DJ&A Engineering. MDT says this approach can shorten project timelines. On September 25, the team submitted its 90% design plans to MDT for review.
What the Rebuilt Kagy Is Supposed to Look Like
The medians coming back in 2027 are one piece of a much bigger change. Between South 19th and Willson, MDT's plan includes:
- Two travel lanes in each direction
- A center median with turning lanes
- Separated shared-use paths on both sides of the road
- Two tunnels under Kagy as part of new ADA-compliant crossings
- Multi-lane roundabouts at South 11th Avenue and South 7th Avenue
- Updated signals at South Willson Avenue, plus landscaping, street lighting, and drainage work
In December 2023, the project received nearly $24.3 million in Rural Surface Transportation Grant funding. MDT is planning it with the City, MSU, the Museum of the Rockies, and other stakeholders.
Getting to the Kagy Businesses This Month
While the sewer phase finishes, the City's street report says temporary sewer bypass pipes limit left turns into businesses on West Kagy between South Willson and South Tracy. To reach the businesses at the corner of West Kagy and South 3rd Avenue, use the South 3rd Avenue driveway.
That corner includes Crossings Kitchen at 290 W Kagy Blvd, Suite A, which has a dining room, a coffee shop, and a drive-through. Its website says the lot entrance isn't affected by the sewer work. If the South 3rd/Willson intersection closes, it asks customers to come in from the west. The posted hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for dining and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. for coffee and the drive-through.
This corner has already been through the worst of it. In August, NBC Montana reported that crews were working 24-hour shifts at the South 3rd, West Kagy, and South Willson intersection. The City said the goal was to finish that intersection before the school year began. During that work, South 3rd was closed between Kagy and West Graf Street except for local residents and business access, and northbound through traffic was detoured to West Graf and South 11th Avenue.
October 30 at the Museum of the Rockies
The Museum of the Rockies is one of the stakeholders MDT names in the rebuild, and its main entrance sits on this corridor. Over the summer, intermittent closures of the westbound left-turn lane into the main entrance sent visitors around by South 7th Avenue, through the staff lot, and along the service drive to visitor parking. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported the same alternate route at the time. Remember that route if the museum's left turn is closed again on a busy night.
October 30 is a full day at the museum. According to its calendar:
- Early Learning Spooktacular, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with Halloween costumes, sensory play, crafts, and hands-on activities
- Pour and Gore: A Haunted Masquerade, 6 to 9 p.m., ages 21 and up
- The Phantom of the Opera screening at 9 p.m.
Two new exhibitions are also open. Popnology runs October 3, 2026 through January 11, 2027. Chisel & Razor opened October 17 and runs through September 12, 2027. That means Chisel & Razor will still be on display after crews break ground on the Kagy rebuild next spring.
November 18 Is When the Rebuild Gets Specific
MDT's pre-construction open house is on Wednesday, November 18, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Pilgrim United Church of Christ, 2118 S. 3rd Avenue. Drop in anytime. There's no formal presentation, and the project team will be there to talk about upcoming construction and answer questions. The 90% design plans went to MDT for review in September, so the open house is a good place to ask how construction at the planned roundabouts at South 11th and South 7th will be staged.
Until then, both agencies have direct lines:
- Kagy sewer work: [email protected] or 406-281-7604, with text and email alerts through the "eNotifications" link on the City's capital projects page
- Kagy reconstruction: 406-207-4484, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or email Sloane Stinson at Big Sky Public Relations, [email protected], to join MDT's update list
- Weekly closures: the City's street report, updated each week
Everdawn keeps track of the Kagy timeline because it shapes the drive to MSU, the museum, and the businesses at Kagy and 3rd for the next couple of years. If you're wondering how the 2027 rebuild fits into your own plans on the south side, Everdawn Charles is glad to talk it through. Discover Montana Living. Contact Everdawn.
