HELENA — The City of Helena is launching a project to look at potentially changing the railroad crossing on Montana Avenue.
Grade separation projects are when engineers look at changing the height of a roadway, such as a bridge or underpass.
The new Helena grade separation project will start 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 (where Montana Avenue meets Helena Avenue and Lyndale Avenue).
The project is funded by a $3.2 million grant in 2025 through the Railroad Crossing Elimination program. The goal of the work is to identify a preferred corridor configuration, complete National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation, and advance preliminary engineering for the preferred alternative through 30% design.
Site investigations, surveying traffic data, and drilling are set to start this month, with community involvement opportunities to come in the future for feedback.
More information about the project can be found here.
