HELENA – Montana will receive nearly $18 million in federal funding to help repair the remaining damage to roads and bridges from last year’s record flooding.
The floods, which developed after an unusually heavy snowfall late last winter, carried billions of gallons of water down Western Montana’s rivers and streams last spring.
While much of that impact hit private property owners in places like Seeley Lake, Missoula and Augusta, there was also considerable damage to public property including roads and bridges.
Funding approved for repairs on flood-damaged Orchard Homes levee
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration announced Wednesday Montana would be receiving $17.9 million in emergency relief funds.
Some of that money will be spent repairing slides and erosion near Missoula, Thompson Falls and the Skalkaho Road.
Other funds will be used to repair state highways and bridges that were damaged in the flash floods that hit Augusta and parts of the Rocky Mountain Front in mid-June.
Repairs are also slated for that culvert which blew out on Highway 200 near Rogers Pass, which shut down the critical cross-state route for several days.
Reporting by Dennis Bragg for MTN News
