SOMERS - The director of the state Department of Transportation says big rigs, including those carrying hazardous materials, will continue to be allowed on Montana 35 near Flathead Lake despite several accidents on the narrow highway.

Jim Lynch, speaking at a public meeting in Somers on Thursday, said the emphasis now should be on making the road safer and reducing accidents. He added that the trucking industry is willing to police its drivers through a "road watch community" similar to a Neighborhood Watch program.

An April 2008 truck crash that spilled thousands of gallons of gasoline near the lake and forced five families from their homes for more than a year renewed calls from many east shore residents to ban or restrict truck traffic along the highway. The residents want the traffic rerouted to the wider and more modern U.S. Highway 93 on Flathead's west shore.

That crash was the first in a string of four single-truck accidents on Montana 35 in the past 18 months.