Hill County to receive nearly $2 million in road flood repair

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said he helped secure almost $18 million to help repair flood-damaged roads in Montana, including more than $1.8 million for Hill County.

“Last year’s flooding did real damage to Montana’s roads and infrastructure,” Tester said in a press release. “These resources will help boost jobs and repair the damage — making travel safer and keeping our communities open for business.”

The release said Tester helped secure a grant for the Montana Department of Transportation to help fix roads damaged in those floods. The grant, worth $17,937,061, was awarded by the Federal Highway Administration and will fund the repair and reconstruction of flood-damaged highways and roads across the state. 

The flooding occurred as near-record levels of accumulated snow — Havre was less-than-an-inch away from setting a new record with more than 92 inches falling through the winter — melted off and had no place to go.

Valleys and coulees — and even flatlands — ended up under water as the snow melted and rivers rose and overflowed their banks.

Significant road damage occurred, with some roads in north-central Montana closed for weeks.

The Highway Administration grant to Montana includes $1,178,190 for repair to a road and replace a culvert on Montana Secondary Highway 448 south of Gildford and $676,986 for repair to erosion

The release said Tester wrote letters to FEMA Administrator Brock Long, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, and former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke last spring urging them to address the flooding.