| In the not-too-distant past, the
establishment of a major transportation route
through a particular town or hamlet was an
absolute requirement for the continued success of
that community. The particular route of railroads,
roads, and more recently, airports, have made or
broken the fortunes of many.
Is the same true today? If you build a bigger,
better highway, will traffic, travel and trade
necessarily follow? What is the relationship
between the development of state transportation
infrastructure and economic development? These
questions and more were debated and discussed by
nearly 80 participants during a day-long gathering
in Great Falls at the Wheeler Spring Business
Roundtable in April.
Prior to the Roundtable, during the 2001
legislative session, several bills were passed
relating to highway funding. One bill directed the
state Department of Transportation to begin to
find even more effective ways to work with other
state agencies, like the Department of Commerce.
Another bill, largely ignored by most Montanans,
directed the DOT to begin planning for a complete
"restructuring" of Highway 2, along Montana’s
hi-line, from two lanes to four (the fiscal note
on this bill included language which allowed ONLY
federal funds to be used in conjunction with this
project, a move which seemed to satisfy all
parties. However, subsequently, support for the
project was pledged by both Senators, and the DOT
did receive $2 million in federal funds to begin
studying the restructuring).
Using Highway 2 as a case study, then, the
Wheeler Center focused on how and why
transportation dollars are allocated as they are
and how this allocation relates to and affects
statewide economic development.
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