By Alan Sorensen
With snow flurries starting to spread across Montana, now is a good time to plant a road report guide for Montana and surrounding states near your phone and in your car.
The following road report information was compiled and produced on a heavy paper card by the Maintenance Division of the Montana Department of Transportation. The card contains a major-road map of the state with local road condition telephone numbers printed next to each of the state's 11 major towns.
For statewide road conditions, call 1-800-226-ROAD or (406) 444-6339 (a Helena number), or 1-800-335-7592 (TTY). The road reports can be found on the Internet at mdt.state.mt.us.
The 11 statewide listing of local numbers is;
Havre -- 265-1416;
Great Falls -- 453-1605;
Kalispell -- 751-2037;
Missoula -- 728-8553;
Lewistown -- 538-7445;
Butte -- 494-3666;
Bozeman -- 586-1313;
Billings -- 252-2806;
Miles City -- 232-2099;
Glendive -- 377-2314;
Wolf Point -- 653-1692;
Conditions on the interstates and major passes are reported at 7 a.m. (toll free in the United States). The statewide report summarizes conditions on the interstate system first, then major roads beginning with roads in western Montana. It's updated by 7:30 a.m. and again at mid-morning and in the afternoon, seven days a week from the end of October until the end of April.
Studded snow tires are legal in Montana from Oct. 1 through May 31.
Road information for nearby states and provinces are:
Idaho -- (888) 432-7623;
North Dakota -- (701) 328-7623;
South Dakota -- (605) 367-5707;
Utah -- (801) 964-6000;
Washington -- (888) 766-4636;
Wyoming -- (307) 772-0824;
Alberta -- (403) 471-6056;
British Columbia -- (604) 660-9770;
Saskatchewan -- (306) 787-7623.
Current weather information and forecasts are available from the National Weather Service in:
Billings -- 652-1916;
Glasgow -- 228-9625;
Great Falls -- 453-5469;
Helena -- 443-5151;
Kalispell -- 755-4829;
Missoula -- 721-3939.
The Montana Highway Patrol's emergency telephone number is 1-800-525-5555.
CellularOne and CommNet cell phone customers can dial *ROAD (*7623), courtesy of CellularOne and CommNet Cellular.
The road report cards are available at the Havre office of the Montana Department of Transportation east of Holiday Village Shopping Center. They can be ordered by calling (406) 444-0468 or by writing MDT at P.O. Box 201001, Helena, MT 59520-1001.
