HomeMy WebLinkAboutNewsline June 2005Slides Close Beartooth Highway
On 20, mudsildas from rain and runoff
May
hea~
snow
dnmA~ed the Beartooth Highway at 1'~ sites along ap-
proxlmntely 12 miles of roadway. As a result, the Beanooth
Highway is closed from the Park Side Campground, approxi-
mately 10 milas south of Red Lodge, to Line Lake trnilhead,
two miles north of the Montana/Wyoming border.
The erea remnlrl6 unstable and dangerous. MDT urges
people not to Iravel beyond the road closure pni~t.v--even by
foot.
Repairing this important roadway is a high priority, and
MDT is devoting all available resoerces to developing a
pair plan and timeline; The Department issued a request/'or
proposals on June 3 with the ru~!niroment that they be
turned by June 13. MDT Dii~ctor ~im Lynch sa/ti the Depart-
m~nt hopes to award a bid on .Tune 15, and "we'd expect them
to be working by .Tune 22."
Dates for'compledon of the project range from October 15,
2005, to Memorial Day 2006; however, thc Director sa/d that
the highway "wilJ not be open this s~mmer."
Motorists can still Uavel between Red Lodge and Cooke
City by way of the Chiaf 2asoph Scenic Highway (Wyoming
Highway 296). This route, aisc known as the Sunlight Basin
Road, is easily accessible from Red Lodge via Montana High-
way 308. The Chief ]asoph Highway is noted for its rich his-
tory and unique beauty. Truvel time is approximately the
same as over the Banrtooth Highway.
The Bnertooth Highway, which is part of U.S. Highway
212, opened in 1936. It begins at Red Lodge and winds 68
m/les through the rugged and scenic Bnenooth Mountains
ending at the Northeast Enhance to Yellowstone National
Park. At its highest point, the road reaches 10,947 feet. In
2002, it was designated an AU-American Road. Charles
Kuralt called theBannooth "America's most beautiful road."'
To view images of the sl/de, visit the MDTWeb site at
~v. mdt.$tate, mt. us. For additional informat/0n, contact
Charity Watt Levis at
While Governor Bt4~n $chweirger and ~ Director Jim Lynch
spoke at the official unveiling of the Lewis and Clark Commemo-
ratlve Highway Map on May 20, the Governor's dog, Jag, relaxed
on the Capitol lawn. The ne~ map highlights ~he state's two
Lswi~ wnd Clark national signature events. If you would like a
copy, call 444-6129 or 800-714-7296 (toll-free). To order onlin~
viz~t www. rn&stot~m~us/travin~os.
Safety Legislation Update
Montana is two steps closer to safer highways thanes to
bills passed during the 2005 Lugisiative Session. In late
April, Governor Brian Schweitzer signed two pieces of safety
fegisiation into law cma~ng a graduamd driver~ Licensing sys-
tom and prohibiting drinking while driving. Safety proponents
had hoped for a ~ measure that would make not wearing a
sent belt a primary offense; however, the bill failed in the Honsn
of Representatives.
Graduated Drivers Licensing
Senator Kim Gillan fi.om BilUnge successfully sponsored
Senate Bill 104, which requires graduated drivers licensing for
anyone under 18 years old. Thc law goes into effect Suly 1,
2006. The new licensing system is designed to help teenagers
gradually develop the skills they need to be safer drivers. It
specLfies a six-month learning porind during which thc new
driver must be eccompamed by a Ucensed driver over age 18 in.
the fi.om seat. The ]aw also requires everyone in the vehicle to
wear scat beits, ljmits the number of passengers undur age 18,
and restricts nighttime driving.
Graduated drivers licensing systems have been shown to
reduce crashes and finalities involving teenage drivers. Mon-
tana is the 50th state in the nation to enact graduated drivers
licensing.
Open Container I. aw
With the support of a number of proponants, open container
legisiat/on easily passed in both the House and Senate. Senator
Gary Percy of Manlmttan sponsored the bill, which becomes
law on October 1, 2005. It pwvides for a fine of up to $100 for
possession of an open alcoholic bev~age container w/thin the
passenger area of a motor vehicle on a kighway. Violations will
not affect a driver's secerd, and insurance companies are not
allowed to hold a violation against the iasm'ed or use it to raise
their rates.
PrOnaty Seat Belt Law
Senate Bill 43 providing for a prlm~ry seat belt law passed
the Senate but died on the House floor. Senator Mike Cooney
of Heiena sponsored the measure which was defeated by a ~-2 to
$8 vote. Although the bill failed, this was an improvement over'
2003 when the same le~isfetion received only one "yes" vote in
the Sensm Judiciary Committee. With the coIrth/aed suppont of
citizens and state, local, and private agencies, ~ legislation
mad~ it much further than in th~ past. Look for a p~m~y seat
belt law to be reintroduced in the 2007 session.
2
Montana Generates New Power Facilities
Power faciliti~ and power distribution
almost always impact roadways and
consequently involve MDT in the per-
mitn'ng and approval process.
communities have
experienced increased
power costs and occa-
sional power outages.
This has led to now inter-
est ia increasing the out-
put of existing power
plants and in building
new facilities. Montana
has not been isolated
fl'om~this trend.
On tho surface, one
wouldn't think the De-
partmect of Transportation would be involved in reviewing and
permitliag power facilities. However, the considerable re-
sources mquirad to genetme and distr/bote power almost always
impact highways and highway right-of-way. Sometimes a pro-
posed power psoject will have minimal irnpacts to the roadway,
perhaps no more than aa overhead power line crossing. In other
cases, tho impact can be much mom significant, up to and ia-
eluding the need to develop g~ade-separatad rail crossings or to
malign roadways.
Tho potentially dangerous and large-scale nature of these
impacts g~lerally require companies to prepare an environ-
menial document before a sham or federal ageacy can issue per-
Reco_oni~/noo that aa abuadang power supply is important to
Montana's econmny and to the state's ability to attract industry,
tim Governor's office has created an Interagency Energy Devel~
opment Teskforco to stmamiiue and expedite the review of these
developments. The System Impact Action Process Section of
the Rail, Tramit and Planning Division is MDT's point of con-
Currently, MDT is roviowiag nine power generation facill-
ties: one hateful-gas-fired and four coal-fired electricity genera-
tion plants, two hydroelectric river projects, and two wind en-
ergy facilities. Of these nine facilities, two (the Rocky Moon-
tala Power coal-fired plant nea~ Hardin and the Judith Gap wind
gen*rating facility) have ronda it through the approval process
and are currently under construction.
A bricf description of tho projects and a location map follow:
· Bull Mountain Mine and Roundup Power Project. DEQ has
approved a proposal to build a coal-fired power plant south
of Roundup near the Bull Mountain Coal Mine.
· . Rocky Mountain Power, Inc.: Centennial Energy Resources
is building a coal-fired power plant near Hardin.
· , Southwestern Montana Electric Generation and Transmis-
sion Cooperative: This organization would like to build a.
coal-firad power plant near Salem. Applications have not yet
been filed for this plant.
· ~Nelson CreekPowerProject: GreatNorthern PowerDevel-
opnmnt and Kiewit Mining Group are proposing one or moro
coal-fired power generating facilities ia conjunction with a
lignite mine 15 miles northwest of Circle.
· Basin Creek Power Services: Mile High Energy Solutions
and MSE Infrastructure Services have proposed a auroral-
gas-powered generating facility south of Butte in the MSE
complex.
· Hebgen Dam Hydroelectric Project: Fall River Rural Elco-
Cdc Cooperative, lac., has proposed a fiver type hydroelec-
Cdc project just below the Hebgen Dam.
· Clark Canyon Dam Hydroelec-
tn'c Project: Clark Canyon Hy-
dro, LLC, has iliad a first-stage
consultation document with the
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission to license a run-of-
the-river type hydroelectric pro-
ject jest below the Clark Canyon
Dam southwest of Dillon.
· Valley County WindEnergy
Park: Wind Hunter, LLC, pro-
poses to construct, operate, and
MDT is currently rm.'iew- m~liataia a wind energy develop-
ing two proposals for wind meat northwest of Glasgow
energyfacititie& along with a 30-mile transmis-
sion line.
· Judith Gap Wind Generating Facility: Awind generating
facility is proposed on both sides of US 191/MT 3 approxi-
mately fi miles south of Judith Crap. Constlxletion is sehad-
ulad to begin ia May 2005.
If you have any questions about these projects, please contact
Jial Slcinner at ~.~.n. 9233 erjskinner~mt, gov.
Are Mileposts Really a Mile Apart?
The answer is "not always." To understand why, it's impor-
tant to know why we use mileposts: They are designed to
help government highway, road, and safety departments find
iafrasm~cture features, locate incidents, and manage road data.
Because mileposts are highly visible, the traveling public also
uses them to determine locations and calanlate distances.
MDT stores road information in large data files and menage-
ment systems. This information includes road widths, surface
types, traffic volumes, bridges, construction projects, accidents,
and a great deal more. The files and systems make it possible
for road meangars to quickly access and analyze information.
When mileposts are initially installed along a route, they are
placed as close to one mile apart as possible. A mile is a ran-
sortable distance as well as a common suunlard of measurement.
However, an exact mile from a previous milepost might be in
the center of an intersection, a bridge, or some other location
that mey prohibit physically locating a milepost at that point. In
these instances crews must install the milepost jnst before or
after the one-mile point from the previous milepost.
Additionally, when roads are reconsmacted, they are often
maligned resulting ia shorter (or longer) routes. Readjusting all
the mileposts beyond the completed project to the end of the
route would not only be prohibitively expensive but would
quire adjusting data to line up with the new milepost locations.
In these situations, the affected mileposts are placed within the
new road segments as close to one mile apart as possible.
Because mileposts are used as reference points and are not
necessarily one mile apart, the correct term for them is
"reference markers."
MDT Chooses New
Section 53].0 Manal er
S tevan Pontzak is
MDT's new manager
for the Section 5310 capital
assistance grant program for
the elderly and persons with
disabilities. Steven is a
graduate of Montana Stale
University and brings over
~ nine years of transit-related
Steven Potuzak experience to his new posi-
tion. Most recanfly, bewas
the program director for the Human Resource De-
velopment Council in Bozernan:
In his new position, Steven will manage the
capital assistance program, which provides Irans-
portation services for elderly persons and persons
with disabilities, and will be the main point of
contact for this statewide program. To contact
Steven, call 444-4265 or send an e-mail to
spotuzak@rnt, gov.
BitterRoot Bus & Ravalli COA
Open New Complex
The new Ravalli COA office building
also houses offices for BitterRoot Bus.
The new bus barn has six bays with room
for washing and light maintenance.
Supporters, customers, and staff gathered March 30 to celebrate the open-
iag of new offices and facilities for the Ravalli County Council on Aging
and BitterRoot Bus. The festivities marked the cl]lmination of a three-year
effort to replace the old office, a cramped ~railar on West Main in Hamilton.
The new 1,000-square-foot building on Corvallis Road includes office space,
meeting rooms, and a conference room. The new bus barn has six drive-
through bays with room for washing and light maintenance.
The project was funded with a grant from the Federal Transit Adminislrafion.
Lonffdme area resident, 94--year-old Susie Wilkinson, donated 20 acres for the
facility, which was named the Wilkinson Complex in honor of bar late parents.
4
Dillon- North Montana Street
Be/ore: Increased. traffic, difficultias with traffic flow,
and the need for infrastructure improvements were
among the problems, that led to the Dillon-North
Montana Street Project. This photo was taken Sep-
tember 2003 near the intersection with Interstate 15.
Dickie Bridge-Wise River
After: This is the same intersection following im-
provements that included grading and surfacing, side-
walks, water and sewer work, signals, and landscaping.
Construction started in April 2004. Blahnik Construc-
tion was the pdma~ contractor.
Before: This was Montana Highway 43 in July 2002.
The scope of work for the project iacluded meonsUmct-
ing about 6 miles of roadway and 1.5 miles of overlay.
Ferr Terminal Facilities
After: This photo was taken in May 2005. A.M.
Welles of Norris, Montana, is the primary conWactor
for the project, which should be completed in July.
Before: County-owned facilities such as tl~s trailer at
McClelland were replaced as part of the upgrade of
Montana's thre*Missouri River ferries.
After:. This is the new 1,200-square-foot facility at
Carter: The buildings at McClelland and Virgelle ere
similar. All are of modular consmlction.
The Frenchwoman and MacDonald Pass
by Jon Axline, MDT Historian
Helena's history has been closely tied to the road systems
that served the Queen City. When gold was discovered
on Last Chance Gulch in July 1864, the Prickly Pear Valley was
part of an ancient transportation corridor that war already famil-
iar to Montana's pioneers, who, like most people, were always
looking for quicker ways to get from here to there. In Helena's
care, it meant finding better mutes over the continental divide
west of the mining anmp. The best route is now called Mac-
Donald Pass, and for nearly 150 years, it has played a critical
role in the development and economic prosperity of the area.
Of the three motmtain passes west of Helena that provide
connections to the Deer Lodge and Missunla Valleys, Mac-
Donald Pass is the best known. Initially, however, Mullah Pass
was the preferred way over the divide for Montana's pioneers.
The Indians knew the pass well before it was "discovered" by
Lieutenant John Mullan in
1854. By the early 1860s it
was frequently used by pros-
pectors and others traveling
between Fort Benton and the
gold camps on Grasshopper
and Gold Creeks. While the
pass itseff was located at a
reladvely low elevation, the
mad leading to it was daunt-
gag for freighters because of
the steep grades and tight
curves. Nearby Palest Pass
was constrocted as a toll
mad by a local entrepreneur
looking for a way to finance
his gold prospecting ~ps.
Built by Chinese laborers in
1880, Priest Pass had be-
come the main route over the
divide by the mid-1880s. It
was even a state highway for
a time in the early 20th century.
MacDonald Pars originated as a toll mad in 1867. When
Montana Territory was formed in 1864, its legislators had no
money to build roads. Consequemiy, they licensed toll compa-
uies to build and maintain the tern'tory's roads and bridges. The
first Incarnation of a road over the pass was popularly known as
the Frenchwoman's Road area. Built by a Freach-Canadian
named Constant Guyot, the new road provided a mom direct
route to the Deer Lodge Valley from Helena. Governor Green
Clay Smith grudgingly approved the license for the road after
complaining about the fact that Guyot wanted to charge travel-
ers for its use before the road had been compieterk An adver-
tisement in a November 1867 issue of the Deer Lodge Weekly
Independent advertised it as "The most direct route from Deer
Lodge City .... The mad is thorougl~ly STAKED OUT, so that
it will be impossible to go artray whila the snow is on; Travel-
ers can be accommodated with meals and lodgings at the French
Woman's." The "French Woman" was Guyot's wife, one of
only a few female toll road operators in Montana.
Details about Madame Guyot are vague. She is referred to in
the historical record simply as the "Frenchwoman" or the "Old
Frenchwoman." No photographs of her have been found. Only
one physical description of her has surfaced, and it is fanciful at
best. In 1881, a newspaper described her as a "neat looking
critter - black-haired, black-eyed, and sharp, and cute lookin',
maybe thirty years old, an' a good housekeeper." While ac-
counts praise Mrs. Guyot, the reports of her husband are less
than flattering: He was a hard-drinking worthless boor--and
likely a meerderer. The Guyots arrived in Montana in late 1864
and purchased a ranch in the Ruby Valley. By early 1866 they
had relocated to Little Blackfoot River Valley and built a ranch
just east of prasent Elliston.
The Frenchwoman maintained a hotel in a log cabin near
Dog Creek at the west end of the toll road, near its junction with
the Mullan Pass road. The woman's hospitality was celebrated
by the many travelers between Deer Lodge and Helena. As
· : i many as thirty men could be
.~ r~, found sleeping on the floor of
t_~w~s ! her two-room "hotel" at any
o.~n~ one time. Ali the meais were
served in the same mom
where the people slept. Ledg-
ing at Madame Guyot's was
$2 a night and meals one dol-
lar. In addition to the cabin,
the site included a barn, cor-
rals, and the toll gate. Con-
stant Guyot spent most of his
time working a hay ranch
about two miles away and had
little to do with the toll road.
In e~ly August 1868, the
Frunehwom~n was found
murdered, her cabin ran-
sacked, and around $6,000 in
gold dust missing. Details of
the crime are unclear, but sus-
picion immediately fell upon her husband and his hired hand.
Deer Lodge County offered a reward of $500 for the apprehen-
sion and trial of the murderers, but the Montana Post was much
more Wac to its vigilante haritage~it recommended that the
killers be strung up as soon as they were caught. No one was
ever brought to justice for the murder of Mzdame Guyot. Many
suspected her husband had committed the crime. The couple
did not get along well, especially when Constant was in his
cups. He could not account for the time between when he said
he leR the cabin and when the crime wes committed. Constant
left the area soon after his wife's death. Aacording to local
folklore, he later confessed to the crime after murdering his sec-
ond wife for harmuney. Many believed that the French-
woman's spirit remained beNnd in her cabin, terrifying travelers
who stopped there for years afterward.
General William Teunmseh Sherman and his entourage used
the Frenchwoman's Road while on a fact-finding tour through
the northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest in 187T His aide,
Colonel Orlando Poe, described the "road [as] dusty but not
otherwise bad .... A very good [toll] mad has been made over
the mountain range, the tfighest point of the pass being at an
elevation of about 6,000 feet .... At 2 p.m. we attained the
crest and began the descent, making good progress until we
reached Frenchwoman's Ranch, where we were detained for
about an hour by a hot box on the general's ambulance."
By the time Sherman and his companions Iraveled the road,
it was owned by Alexander MacDonald, who purchased the
road f~om "Lice" Dunpby in 1876. MacDonald, likq Dunpby,
operated it as a county-liceused toll rood.
During Dunphy's tenure, he cordoroyed low
sections of the rood and built a tollhouse
(which sffll stands) and gate on the Helena ,,
side of the pass. Shortly after taking conlxol
oftbe road in 1868, Dunphy hired Canadian
emigrant and sometime prospector Mac-
Donald to r.~nn~ it while he concenUatsd
on his sawmill business. MacDonald con-
Iracted with the stagecoach ~,,m of Gilmer,
Salisbury & Company for use of the rood..
The tollhouse provided~.ais to the
coach passengers and hay for the horses
from a meadow located .~nsr today's Crom-
well Dixon Campground. As many as three
stages daily lraversod the rood between Deer Lodge and Helena.
Sometime between 1876 and 1878, MacDonald turned over
management of the road to Valentine Priest. Priest lof~ the day-
to-day operation of the toll road to his daughters while he pros-
petted for gold. Probably in 1879, Priast rediscovered a pass
thai had orJ~nslly be~n used by prospectors lravellng to the
Kontenei coonWy in the early 1860s. Because of the relatively
low elevstion of the pass and the somewhat easier grade, Prisst
terminated his employment with MacDonaldin 1879 and built a
toll road over what would become known as Priest's Pass, a
short distance to tim north of MacDonald's
operation. MacDonald resumed management
of his toll road ~er Priest's defection.
As Priest's rood neared completion, he
was ubl~ to induce the C',iim~-, Salisbury&
Company to usa kis mod rather then Mae-
Donald's. The company's division agent
praised Priests nearly ~ni~h~,d thusOUghf~
as a "good rood with the exception cfa few
rocks and a mudhofe or two." The road was
so good, in fact, that usage of the MacDonald
Pass mod dropped sharply, even-,~]tr forcing
MacDonald to sell his property in 1885.
Shortly after Montana achieved statehood
in 1889, Lewis and Clark and Doer Lodge
Counties took over the MacDonald and Priest Pass roads and
made them public thoroughfares. The counties, however, only
actively mnintained tho Mullsn Pass road and MacDonald and
Priest Passes fell into decay and were seldom used.
In 1912, Lewis and Clark County and newly eranlod Powell
County conlrac~ed with the Montana S~ Prison for the usa of
convict labor to improve thu MacDonald Pass route. Convict
crews specialized in the consmmtion of roads through difficult
refrain, such as MacDonald Pass. In return for their on-the-jub
training, the prisoners hod a measure of freedom thst was not
possible behind bers and could earn a reduction in their san-
tenees---as long as they didn't try to escape. The counties paid
for tlm coaslroedon equipment and the maintenance of the pris--
oners. During the early Twenties, there were add/tional im-
provements made by the counties to MacDonald Pass.
In 19'57, MacDonald Pass became part of Montana's federal
highway system and was designated a component of U.S. High-
way 10-North. That year, the Montana Highway Department
began planning for the cons~'uction of a rood westward from
Helena over the continental divide to Garrison. Even with the
preference for MacDonald Pass over Priest and Mullan Passes,
the deperanent's engineers debated the
relative mo-its of ail three routes. They
concluded that the heavy work involved in
irt ~m?oving ~ither Priast or MuHan Passes
ruled out their designation as the p~mary
route over the divide. They also, wrong-
fully, concluded that "It is a significant fact
that the old freight road built and used by
the pioneers used MacDonald Pass in spite
of its higher elevation." (Priest Pass and
Mullah Pass were used just as frequently.)
The Highway l~paxtment and the fed-
eral Bmv~au of Public Roads programmed a
project to improve the grade and curves of
MacDonald Pass and place a graveled sur-
face on it. Within months, the department hod their sm'veyors
on the route mapping the grades and curves. The Nolan Broth-
ers Company of Minnaopolls won tho conlract to upgrade the
road in early 1931, and consm~ctlon began on May 18th. Be-
cans~ of the Great Depression, tho federal goverm~nt funded
nearly all of the $89,000 project. Federal and s~ate regulations
also encouraged the use of local labor with only a rnlnlmrn~ of
heavy equipment used on the projecc My grandCather, a civil
engineer working for the Highway Depastmant at that time, met
his future wife while working on the project. She was the
daughter of a local rancher whom Nolan
Brothers hired to operate a horse-drawn
franc [slmlt~ to a scraper or leveler] on
MacDonald Pass. The cunlractors employed
many fSllus~ a~td rm:lgher8 from the Little
Blackfoot and Ten Milo Creek Valleys to
help build the road. Coustrnetion of the road
was completed in 1932, ami ir was paved by
1935. Tr~es of the old Frenchwom~n's/
MacDonald Pass Rood can still be seca
along U.S. Highway 12 west of the MDT's
m~intena~ce section hous~ to tho bus~ of the
pass an~x Elllston.
In 1935, the Montana Highway Depart-
meat conslxucted a section house just below
the continental divide. The bu.lldi~g, which sffil stands, was the
first section house built by the department. The rustic building
provides shelter to men and equipment "stationed in storm ar-
ans" to keep the pass open in the winter. The water fountains on
the pnss were installed at about the same time and were not in-
tended to provide drln~ng wster to ~drsty motorists, but to sup-
ply water to the. ir overbe~u~d automol~ilas. By 1939, the Mac-
Donald Pass road was described as "highly d~veloped, smooth-
surfaced, regularly graded and widely curved... [flthng] into
the scenery and also the economic scheme of things." By 1963,
the Highway Deponent planned the eventual reconstruction of
the highway to a four-lane facility, a plea that eventually came
to pass in 1979.
7~
Newsline is a quarterly publication of the Rail, Transit and Planning Divi~'on, Montana Departr~nt of Transportatior~
6,802 copies of this public dom~meut vmre published at an eallrnsmd cost of $0.373 per copy for a total of $2,$39 which includes
$731 for prin~ng and $1,808 for diswibutinm Alternative accessible formats of this document will bo provided uPon request.
For furthe, riafatmation call (406)~.*.'! 6331. The'~'l'l' xaumber is (406),~.~.~. 7696 or (800)335-7592. ~ .
MD'Ca miesion is to serve the public ~7 providing a transportation system and services
that smt21~eslze quslity, safety, cest effectiveness, economic vitality and aenaitivity 'co the environment.
Rail, Transit & Planninl[ Division
Montana Department of Transportation
2703- Prospect Avenue
P.O. Box 203.003-
Helena, Montana 59620-~.003.
800-714-7296
JUN 3 0 005
CITY OFf LAUREL
Pre Sort Standard
U.S. Postage
p3m
Helena, MT
Pea'mit No. 141
LAUREL.CITY COM1VIISSION
PO BOX 10
LAUREL, MT 59044-0010