MDT cites funding challenges for potholes and cracks along the 10-mile road
By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR
The Montana Department of Transportation announced in mid-October the completion of TIGER grant work on Montana Highway 64 (Lone Mountain Trail). The $13.4 million project is responsible for new turn lanes, improved signage for wildlife and curves, pedestrian bridges and a pedestrian tunnel, a new traffic signal, and other improvements to improve safety and mobility on Big Sky’s main road.
Gallatin County applied on Big Sky’s behalf for federal TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) funds in 2017 and was awarded $10.3 million in 2018 from the U.S. Department of Transportation. By early 2022, rising construction costs left a $3.1 million funding gap, so MDT committed an additional $2.1 million, and three entities covered the final $1 million: Gallatin and Madison counties, and the Big Sky Resort Area District each pitched in $333,333. The work was finally completed in 2023 and 2024.
However, despite large-scale upgrades to Highway 64, frequent drivers may not feel inclined to celebrate.
Sections of the 10-mile highway are bumpy, cracked and potholed. TIGER projects focused on large-scale layout and design, and added safety features for pedestrians, but the project scope did not include icing on the cake.
Brad Niva, CEO of the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce, said many residents are confused why Big Sky—with some of Montana’s most valuable real estate and a massive property tax base—is stuck with its main road in such poor condition.
“As we go into the winter season this year, you see a lot of potholes already forming,” Niva said. “And you know in the coming months, it’s going to get worse… And they’re not going to get fixed the right way, it’s usually just a band-aid that lasts about six weeks.”
Niva drives around with a can of orange spray paint in the back of his truck. When he sees a bad pothole, he sprays it orange to alert drivers. And then he calls the agency responsible for maintaining the road.
Highway 64 maintenance is MDT’s responsibility, but the relationship is complicated.
Geno Liva is MDT’s Butte district administrator, which includes Big Sky. He said the TIGER grant work has been successful and thanked the community for its patience through two busy summers of construction. He added that MDT is working to improve the stoplight activated in October 2023 at Little Coyote Road—drivers have voiced feedback to MDT about traffic jams during rush hour, worsened by the frequency of red lights.
Beyond the TIGER grant, Liva said MDT has its eye on the highway corridor between Big Sky and Bozeman, a frequent commute for the 75% of Big Sky’s full-time workforce that live outside the resort area district boundary.
“We’re constantly looking for improvements to that corridor to make it better for folks living in the Big Sky area, and traveling that way for work as well,” Liva told EBS.
Liva is aware of the problem with Highway 64’s road surface. “We’re hoping we can get potholes fixed in a timely manner,” he said. “…It is on our list to keep in mind and look for funding opportunities to make improvements to that roadway surface.”
That’s the challenge—MDT does not have regular funding to maintain and improve Highway 64.
“Montana 64 is what we call an ‘x route.’ So, it’s different with how it’s funded,” Liva said.
Typically, auxiliary routes or “x routes” are funded through MDT’s Highway Safety Improvement Program or a bridge project. Roads like Highway 64 are excluded from maintenance funds reserved for interstate, national or state highways. Even though MDT is responsible for maintaining auxiliary roads like Highway 64, those roads don’t fall into any category for consistent funding.
“We are looking further at what options we may have in the future, acknowledging the amount of construction that is happening [in Big Sky], and the impact that those trucks may have on the roadway as we move forward,” Liva said.
Highway 64 is eligible for funding through MDT’s statewide maintenance fund, but that fund is already stretched thin. Because it’s a dead-end road that does not provide connectivity, Liva doesn’t believe it’s realistic for Highway 64 to be funded among state highways at this time.
He added that MDT is paying close attention to the 2024 election, which may change the agency’s funding capabilities.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have enough dollars to take care of every road, and they have to go through a prioritization,” Liva said. MDT evaluates various factors, primarily safety risks, and priority projects involve curves with poor sight distance, and areas with inadequate signage and accident clusters.
Highway 64’s deficiencies may be a nuisance for drivers, but there’s a lot of roads in Montana facing bigger risks. The rising cost of construction makes it hard for MDT to keep up, Liva said, and MDT is forced to optimize its limited budget to improve mobility for the traveling public.
“It’s hard when our needs are outpacing our funding. It’s the reality we live in,” Liva said.
MDT strongly encourages communities across Montana to pursue grant opportunities to bring federal dollars to the table—for example, regional partners recently applied for $22.8 million to help construct wildlife crossings between Bozeman, Big Sky and West Yellowstone.
Niva understands MDT’s limitations, but he believes MDT should be creative and improve its management of underfunded auxiliary routes. As an unincorporated community with unique government and infrastructure services, Big Sky often finds unconventional ways of funding infrastructure. But MDT tends to follow more of a strict process.
For example, Niva praised MDT for taking an unusual approach to improve the 191/64 intersection. MDT fast-tracked the project when Resort Tax committed to purchase adjacent land.
“We just committed $10 million to make that project happen… I think MDT sees that. That we are making commitments,” Niva said, noting that MDT’s standard procedure could have taken 15 to 20 years.
He added that Big Sky should not always have to write a check to get a project moving.
MDT increasing engagement with Big Sky
Liva is pleased that MDT has built collaborative partnerships with Big Sky leaders in recent years, to help understand Big Sky’s rapid growth and often unusual challenges.
Niva also feels grateful for MDT’s effort. He’s seen the relationship improve greatly in the past three years.
“We are really on [MDT’s] radar, and we really appreciate the partnership,” Niva said. “… They’re trying. We’re not here to throw them under the bus by any means.”
In 2023, MDT heard enough feedback about the importance of Highway 64 to add it to the optimization plan MDT had already launched to improve U.S. Highway 191. Niva now serves on a recreation-focused committee, providing input alongside leaders including Troy Nedved, Big Sky Resort president and COO.
“At least there is an ongoing conversation of the future needs our road is going to provide,” Niva said. “And how are we going to fund it.”
Liva is pleased with the impact of recent projects on Highway 191, identified in the optimization plan. MDT is preparing to redesign the Lava Lake area and add enhanced turnouts and passing lanes in Gallatin Canyon.
For Highway 64, the optimization plan doesn’t unlock new funding, but it allows MDT to narrow down the hundreds of millions of dollars in recommended projects from a 2020 study of the 191 corridor, focusing on the projects with largest impact, “to get the biggest bang out of our buck for funding,” Liva said.
As the optimization plan develops, Big Sky drivers will be curious to see if MDT can also find regular funding for Highway 64. Until then, Big Sky’s main road will continue putting vehicle suspension to the test.
