MDT: Highway 2 expansion stymied by lack of funds

The effort to expand Highway 2 to four lanes has been hurt by the lack of state and federal funding, Montana Department of Transportation Director Mike Tooley said Friday

Tooley spoke to a meeting of the Highway 2 Association, a group that that has been pushing for “4 for 2” for 12 years. There are tremendous economic advantages, the group argues. And now, with the explosion of travel because of the Bakken oilfields, four lanes are needed to relieve traffic.

Officials from throughout the Hi-Line were on hand for the meeting in Glasgow.

Representatives from Sheridan and Roosevelt counties, Fort Peck Indian Reservation and officials from Havre, Culbertson were on hand.

Tooley, who is familiar with the area because he was posted to Wolf Point when he was a Montana Highway Patrol trooper, explained that the biggest issue for upgrades is a lack of funding.

But he said that $166 million has been spent on Highway 2 upgrades in the last decade — in the area east of Interstate 15 and near the North Dakota border and in the Havre area.

Highway 2 Association President Bob Sivertsen explained that his group had concerns with studies being brought more up to date.

The studies were conducted before the sudden growth of the oil industry in western North Dakota and eastern Montana.

He said he too was concerned that federal highway funds may dry up.

“This is a nonpartisan issue, but money is a partisan issue,” Tooley said. “We'll be talking to the Senate and the House over the year.”

A priority now is to get four lanes constructed near Bainville in Roosevelt County to alleviate congestion caused by traffic to and from the oilfields, Tooley said.

MDT is trying to get four lanes constructed near Bainville in Roosevelt County to help alleviate the traffic problems closest to the Bakken, he said, but discussions and agreements have had to take place with North Dakota and with landowners along the proposed route.

That project will cost around $29 million and is projected to be completed in 2017, but has slowed down due to issues with acquiring land.

Tooley was asked if the department wasn't offering enough for the property, Tooley responded that that the state was offering market value and trying to negotiate after that if property owners turn down the offer.

“When someone flat out doesn't want the project, money is not an issue,” Tooley said.

State Rep. Mike Lang, R-Malta, asked about eminent domain and wanted to know if there was a law in place that would allow the department to continue if a higher percentage of property owners agreed with the project. Tooley said that there is no such law.

Further expansion depends on getting funds, he said.

With federal assistance and state funding combined, the funds available are far short of the money needed for the available state projects, he said. Congress doesn’t see transportation funding as a priority now, he said. lawmakers are spending their time on crisis issues, he said.

“Highway funding is up in the air, you can't really count on it right now,” Tooley said.

He explained that several projects are planned, but currently the focus is on maintaining what is already there and repairing roads. Trying to get upgrades is difficult. He said that the department is now looking at “the right treatment at the right time, in the right place.”

As the first session with officials wrapped up, the group moved into another room where more officials from Glasgow showed up .

Tooley gave a recap to those joining on issues that had been brought up. He reiterated that Congress needed to find “sustainable, predictable and long-term funding” for the Montana Department of Transportation. “Government, if citizens aren't engaged it seems to go off and do their own thing,” Tooley said.

Carol Lambert, the District 4 state highway commissioner, added that contacting legislators in person or by phone could be more effective than handing a large stack of information. As legislators sometimes don't have time to read through vast amounts of information. She said that residents and groups like the Highway 2 Association needed to stay involved.

“We all need to, especially when it comes to the Bakken corridor,” Lambert said. “It's all of us.”