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Residents press for safety fixes at Bowman's Corner; DOT says data and funding limit options
Summary
Representative Zach Wirth asked the House Transportation Committee to press for safety improvements at Bowman's Corner, an intersection of U.S. 287 and Montana 200, citing a history of crashes and local safety concerns.
Representative Zach Wirth opened a hearing on House Joint Resolution 3 asking the Montana Department of Transportation to “seriously consider” safety improvements at Bowman's Corner, the junction of U.S. Highway 287 and Montana Highway 200 in Lewis and Clark County.
Wirth described a decades-long history of crashes at the intersection and said locals and schoolchildren rely on the site as a bus stop. Proponents from the area, including resident Christie Levine and Duane Williams of the Montana Trucking Association, said existing treatments such as rumble strips and warning lights have helped but that additional measures—turn lanes or other redesigns—are needed to reduce near misses.
The Montana Department of Transportation, represented by Deputy Director Larry Flynn and traffic and safety engineer Gabe Priebe, said the department has repeatedly reviewed the site and implemented low-cost countermeasures in 2012 that have reduced crash severity. Flynn told the committee the intersection currently does not meet the data-driven thresholds for the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) and that the department faces a backlog of projects and funding about three times greater than available dollars.
Priebe described the HSIP prioritization process as federally required, data-driven and subject to benefit-cost calculations; he said the department reviews crash data annually and ranks projects through the Transportation Commission. He said a low-cost package (signing, rumble strips, actuated flashers) was previously installed at Bowman's Corner using maintenance resources at a cost in the tens of thousands; by contrast, adding a left-turn lane would likely cost seven figures and a roundabout would be multiple millions.
After testimony and an amendment that changed the bill language from “prioritize” to “seriously consider,” the committee debated and then tabled the resolution on a substitute motion. The roll-call recorded 10 votes in favor of tabling and 4 opposed, moving HJ3 to the committee packet for possible future reconsideration.
Ending: The committee closed the hearing and, after executive action, tabled HJ3 to allow further consideration, acknowledging local concerns but citing MDT’s funding constraints and the HSIP prioritization process.
