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Montana Transportation Commission approves dozens of locally funded street projects across multiple cities
Summary
The Commission on Feb. 26 approved locally funded construction and reconstruction projects in Great Falls, Kalispell, Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls and Missoula and delegated contracting authority to several local governments; cities will assume maintenance and liability for new elements.
The Montana Transportation Commission on Feb. 26 approved a package of locally funded street and pavement projects across several Montana cities and delegated contracting authority for multiple items to local governments.
Doug McBroom, presenting for Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) staff, told commissioners the requests were made under state statutes that govern project selection and contract letting for state-designated highway systems. Projects include mill-and-overlay work in Great Falls and a set of mill-and-overlay and reconstruction projects in Kalispell, along with a slate of contract-let reconstructions, signal upgrades and bike/pedestrian improvements in Billings and other cities. Estimated local cost figures presented ranged from $25,000 traffic-signal upgrades to multi-million-dollar reconstruction segments such as Rimrock Road in Billings ($5 million and $10 million segments).
"Staff recommends that the Commission approve these improvements to the state highway system — pending completion of applicable state and local design review and approval processes," McBroom said, summarizing the request that the Commission approve design and delegation consistent with the Montana Code Annotated requirements staff cited.
Commissioners noted that when cities fund and design work on Commission-designated urban routes, the projects often return questions about whether work constitutes maintenance or reconstruction and whether Commission action is required. Commissioner Noel Sansaver asked whether such projects would return to the Commission; McBroom said staff do not expect these particular simple projects to require further Commission action. In the case of slide repairs (Giant Springs Road, Great Falls), MDT said the local government paid for initial repair and that contingency funding can be used if further work impacts the state highway.
The Commission voted unanimously to approve the local-force projects for Great Falls and Kalispell and to delegate contract-let authority for the contract-labor projects to the listed local governments (Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls, Missoula, Powder River County and Prairie County). The City of Helena was likewise delegated authority to let the Last Chance Gulch contract after MDT design review was completed.
Why it matters: The approvals allow locally funded projects to proceed under local control while preserving MDT oversight for design review on Commission-designated routes. Cities that accept delegation will assume operation and maintenance responsibilities for new elements, and MDT stressed the role of the state review process in ensuring safety and consistency with design standards.
What's next: Staff will proceed with local letting and design review. Any project that materially changes the operation of a Commission-designated route or raises unresolved design concerns could be brought back before the Commission.
