Montana Avenue Grade Separation Project
The City of Helena has been awarded grant funding for the Montana Avenue Grade Separation project through the Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) program. The project will advance planning, environmental review, and preliminary engineering for a grade separation of the existing at-grade BNSF Railway crossing at Montana Avenue and reconfiguration of the adjacent five-point intersection. Key outcomes include identification of a preferred corridor configuration, completion of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation, and advancement of preliminary engineering for the preferred alternative through 30% design.
The project will be a collaborative process led by the City of Helena, with participation by BNSF Railway and the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT). Federal oversight will be provided by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
The project is located in the City of Helena, Lewis and Clark County, within the following limits:
- Montana Avenue: Aspen Street (north) to Livingston Avenue (south)
- Lyndale Avenue: Montana Avenue (east) to National Avenue (west)
- Helena Avenue: Cooke Street (east) to National Avenue (west)
Initial site investigations are anticipated to begin in May 2026 and will include drilling, survey, and traffic data collection activities.
Community involvement opportunities will be announced later in 2026 after baseline project information has been gathered and analyzed. Initial in-person and virtual public outreach activities are anticipated in the fall.
Community input is a very important part of the process. Feel free to provide comment below.
Public Comment
Please make pedestrian and bicycle use a primary design objective for this project, and not just an afterthought. Montana Ave is a critical barrier for people walking and biking from east to west. At the same time, it is also underused as a non-motorized route for north-south travel. This project presents a rare opportunity to create safe, comfortable, and direct connections in both directions. Please look at providing protected bicycle and pedestrian paths/bridges, continuous sidewalks, ADA-accessible crossings, and connections to existing routes. Success should be measured not only by reduced vehicle delays, but also by how well the project improves safety and mobility for all users.
Need to prioritize safe and comfortable Centennial Trail crossing for non-motorized users and not be an afterthought in designing for vehicles. I can recall studies of the rail crossing happening almost 30 years ago.
Hello, I am very excited about the project to improve the intersection at Montana Ave/Lyndale/Helena Avenue. A couple of very important considerations near or adjacent should include how it impacts pedestrian crossing at National Avenue and Lyndale, as well as developing a safe route to continue the Centennial trail system across Montana. I fully support a roundabout at the intersection and grade separation from the railroad crossing to improve multi modal safety for all. Sidewalks along Montana are a must in this rework. Thank you! Ann Schwend
After reviewing the supporting studies it seems like there is plenty of study documenting with data the problems. The most useful part of the grant is "advancement of preliminary engineering for the preferred alternative through 30% design". How can we move forward with the rest of a design to finalize the needed improvements and where is the funding going to come from? Without a plan to complete the project the money is wasted on another study.
I fully support the grade separation of North Montana Ave at the railroad crossing. I often times avoid North Montana and take North Last Chance Gulch instead because of the delays due to frequent trains traveling through Helena. ...Belgrade is getting a grade separation on Jackrabbit Lane and Helena should be next!
Montana divides an important east-west bike route through the city, and any redesign should make it a priority for people walking and biking to safety cross Montana. If the pedestrian/bike route can't be grade separated, there should be something on the Lyndale side of the tracks that enables people to cross safely and comfortably; the usual pedestrian facilities at roundabouts or those yellow flashing lights will be very uncomfortable to use due to the width of the current road and the changes that will likely come with changing the 5 way intersection.
Without a focus on these facilities, the experince of walking and biking across town has the potential to get much worse. As transportation costs increase, it's important to have infrastructure that is comfortable and safe for all road users, not just those in cars.
Sounds good, promising!
This should have happened 20 years ago. All that's happened is a series of studies that say there's a problem, which is something that anyone who's ever used the crossing already knows. I don't care whether it's an overpass, underpass, rerouting the train tracks away from Helena, or building a ramp for vehicles to jump over the trains Evel Knievel style. Just build something out there already instead of continually studying it.
