Allison Corbyn

The Montana Infrastructure Coalition has been in contact with our Congressional Delegation over the last several weeks to discuss the importance of infrastructure investment not just in the midst of the current COVID-related financial crisis, but as a long-term strategy for economic stability and the general health and well-being of our communities across Montana.

Senator Tester has heard from you, and inherently recognizes the importance of investing in our infrastructure.  When asked about his position on various bills making their way through the Washington legislative process, Senator Tester said, “As I travel across Montana, I consistently hear from folks that we need to update our infrastructure.  Whether it is improving our roads, bridges, schools or high speed-internet access, Congress is long overdue in passing a responsible infrastructure bill that strengthens businesses and communities across our state.  Making these investments is essential to the growth of our economy now and for future generations.”

The Coalition has had the opportunity to participate in video conferencing with Senator Daines a couple of times this past month, and in a call just last week, Executive Director Darryl James asked Senator Daines about the federal role in state and local infrastructure funding.  Senator Daines was very clear in stating that Congress needs to resist thinking about infrastructure spending as a novel expenditure.  He said, “Infrastructure investment is more appropriately viewed as payment on a debt we already owe to our country.  Previous generations built the majority of the infrastructure we enjoy today, and it’s our responsibility to make sure we properly maintain that infrastructure so the next generation isn’t left with a massive infrastructure debt that they can’t build their way out of.”

When asked specifically about his down vote on a House infrastructure funding bill earlier this month, Congressman Gianforte said, “Transportation bills should be bipartisan and focus on our country’s pressing infrastructure needs.  Unfortunately, Nancy Pelosi chose to speed down a partisan road toward the Green New Deal.  That’s a dead end in Montana, which is why I voted against it.  Since the Senate won’t pass Pelosi’s partisan bill, I look forward to working toward a compromise bill that actually addresses Montana’s critical needs.”

Montanans should be pleased that our voices are being heard in Congress, and that our delegates understand and appreciate the need to take infrastructure investment seriously.  The injection of Federal monies into local infrastructure right now could translate into immediate employment for Montana’s skilled labor force, an opportunity to chip away at our infrastructure deficit, and securing a safer and healthier place to do business and raise families across our state.  Continuing to ignore the need for assistance means that even basic service needs in our local communities continue to go unmet, and that we risk a sluggish and languishing recovery from the current economic crisis.

If you haven’t already done so, please reach out to Senators Tester and Daines, and Congressman Gianforte to thank them for their support, and encourage their continued engagement in the infrastructure funding dialogue on behalf of the great state of Montana.

On Tuesday, May 19, 2020, Montana Infrastructure Coalition (MIC) and its individual members collectively drafted and sent the following letters to Montana’s congressional delegates requesting that further economic recovery funding be routed directly to local governments to ensure that the revenue shortfalls caused by the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders be backfilled with federal relief aid. MIC and its members requests full support of a COVID-response funding package that provides funding directly to local governments to backfill lost revenue to ensure that essential services can continue and more importantly that significant investments can be made in infrastructure for both short and long-term economic benefits.

On Tuesday, May 12, 2020, Montana Chamber of Commerce, Montana Infrastructure Coalition, Montana Association of REALTORS^®, and Montana Contractors Association collectively drafted and sent the following letters to Montana’s congressional delegates in support of a funding allocation request from the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The allocation would provide COVID-19 economic recovery funding necessary to alleviate lost revenue from fuel taxes and weight-mile taxes as a result of a significant decrease of vehicle miles travelled. This revenue is necessary in maintaining and improving essential transportation infrastructure.

There’s been some improvement in Montana’s roads, bridges and other public works projects since 2014, but they’re still generally in mediocre shape. That’s according to a new report card from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Read more here!

The 2018 Report Card for Montana’s Infrastructure was released by the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Montana Section, giving 10 categories of infrastructure an overall grade of “C.” The report includes an evaluation of the state’s bridges, drinking water, dams, energy, rail, roads, schools, solid waste, stormwater and wastewater. The last Report Card for Montana’s Infrastructure was released in 2014.

Check out the 2018 Report Card here!

“It doesn’t make sense to kick that can down the road when we are talking about critical infrastructure in someone’s community,” said Darryl James.

The rejected bonding bill only allocated about $30 million for critical infrastructure, like wastewater systems, roads and bridges. The coalition hopes to find support for a much larger investment this session, saying Montana could wisely spend $100 to $200 million on water and sewer projects alone. But James said even $200 million for waterline maintenance is only a “drop in the bucket.”

“Most of the urban water and wastewater systems were built between 75 and 100 years ago,” said James. “There are softball-sized holes in these water lines. We are going to reach catastrophic failure somewhere.”

Please check out the full article here.

Check out this story here!

“The poll offers good indicators to elected officials and those running for office that voters view infrastructure investment as a positive.”

Click here to read more.

Exciting news! The Montana Infrastructure Coalition and its partners, are participating in Infrastructure Week, a national advocacy and educational event, with its own May 14-18 tour across Montana.

The Infrastructure Week tour in Montana will consist of stops in 17 cities across the Treasure State. Each stop will include a presentation by the Montana Infrastructure Coalition and comments from local leaders about the importance and need for infrastructure improvement. The informational events will be held at locations at which infrastructure projects are underway, have already been completed, or are in need. Projects range from road improvements to water treatment plants. According to the 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers’ report card, Montana’s infrastructure is approaching a critical state of disrepair and earned a grade of C-. In addition,
a 2015 Bureau of Transportation Statistics report, indicated that 45 percent of Montana’s roads need repair.

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Infrastructure Week – May 14-21, 2018 – is a week-long series of events raising awareness about why it is time to build better infrastructure.

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More information about National Infrastructure Week can be found at www.InfrastructureWeek.org