Who Fixes the Road?
2023 Winterby Sara Adlington
is an editor for MSU Extension.
When the snow piles up or a pothole rattles your teeth, who should be called to report a need for road maintenance?
In Montana, roads are maintained by multiple entities (Montana Department of Transportation, counties, cities, tribes, special districts, homeowner associations, private owners, and federal or state land managers). How do you find out whom to call when a local road needs attention?
From highly-traveled federal or state highways to city streets, a good place to begin asking is at your county road department (or road and bridge division) or the Montana Department of Transportation online at mdt.mt.gov, which has a maintenance reporting form. County offices will be able to clarify information on which roads they maintain and will have access to maps and plat information if a road isn’t a part of their maintenance. They may have contact information for other road maintenance groups.
Multiple groups may maintain gravel roads and trails that aren’t obvious highways or streets. A county road may be maintained within federal or state land boundaries, requiring checking with a regional land manager’s office.
With about 73,000 miles of roads open to public travel in Montana, traveling safely and comfortably is important. The Montana Department of Transportation maintains 12,900 miles. City road miles vary greatly, from 731 in the city of Billings to just 1.4 miles in Rexford. According to the 2022 Montana Department of Transportation fact book, “the consistent rise in national roadway construction costs reinforces the importance of timely preventive maintenance.”
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