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Transportation seeks five new maintenance shops and small‑project funds to replace aging MDT facilities
Summary
Montana Department of Transportation told the joint committees it seeks funding to replace aging equipment shops in five communities and $3 million for small repairs; MDT described 38 new equipment bays across five sites and said modern vehicle sizes and functions have outgrown existing buildings.
The Montana Department of Transportation told appropriations subcommittees that dozens of its equipment yards and vehicle shops are beyond useful life and that five targeted replacement projects would add 38 bays to the state’s equipment network.
Deputy Director Larry Flynn said MDT maintains about 25,000 lane miles of highway and more than 1,000 buildings serving roughly 2,000 FTE. “Our facilities are not getting any younger,” Flynn told members, and the department requested capital authority for five replacement equipment shops located in Three Forks, Wolf Creek, Lodgegrass, Conrad and Miles City.
Mike Murolo, MDT’s equipment and facilities bureau chief, described the projects as pre‑engineered metal buildings but noted that site‑specific civil work and soils conditions drive design costs: “All 5 of these projects address the same critical issues. The existing buildings have exceeded their useful life, and modern MDT equipment has outgrown the available space,” he said.
Cost drivers discussed in the hearing included bay count, site constraints, geotechnical work and localized civil engineering; committee members urged packaging projects to reduce architectural and procurement fees and to compare public construction costs to private sector benchmarks. MDT said it already tries to bundle similar designs and solicit local contractors to reduce costs and that it plans to bid some facilities as packages.
MDT also requested a $3 million small repairs and maintenance authority for the biennium to handle ad hoc facility needs that arise throughout the year.
Why it matters: Aging shops limit MDT’s ability to maintain large snow‑removal and equipment fleets and can increase equipment downtime and operational costs.
Next steps: Committee members asked MDT to provide detailed site scope and cost breakdowns during work sessions; MDT agreed to supply that information.
