Helena asks Montana Rail Link for help easing Montana Avenue traffic

Helena is asking Montana Rail Link to help ease traffic on Montana Avenue, where rail crossings and commuter traffic collide in one of the city’s busiest corridors. City officials are treating the problem as more than a daily nuisance: backups on the route can slow deliveries, frustrate customers heading to nearby businesses, and interfere with emergency response and neighborhood access.

A city planning document dated Sept. 26, 2024 said Helena’s existing rail track locations cause significant disruption to traffic, especially at crossings without grade separation. City materials also say adding grade-separated crossings, particularly at Montana Avenue and Benton Avenue, would improve congestion and traffic flow. Helena transportation documents note that the city has 16 active at-grade railroad crossings, showing how often trains and road traffic intersect across town.

The Railroad District Neighborhood Plan goes further, recommending construction of a grade-separated rail crossing on Montana Avenue and saying project development should consider effects on Roberts Street. That matters for a corridor that connects west-side and east-side destinations and serves as one of the main routes through Helena. For downtown businesses and commercial traffic, the difference between a blocked crossing and a separated rail line can mean whether trucks keep moving or sit in line.

The city has been working toward that longer-term fix for years. A Nov. 20, 2015 planning document listed the Montana Avenue railroad grade separation as a Major Street Network recommended project. A Feb. 26, 2021 traffic report said coordination was underway between the Montana Avenue rail grade separation and updated crosswalk striping, and it found no short-term vehicular improvements. More recently, a city notice on the Montana Avenue Grade Separation Project said initial site investigations were anticipated to begin in May 2026 and would include drilling, survey and traffic data collection.

Helena’s broader transportation plan also shows the city is not acting alone. The Long Range Transportation Plan says Helena, Lewis and Clark County, and the Montana Department of Transportation partnered to update the community’s transportation blueprint. On Jan. 13, 2025, the city announced it had received $4.5 million in transportation grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation, including $1.3 million through the RAISE program to plan and design a road connecting the South Helena I-15 interchange to U.S. Highway 12.

The city can plan and fund improvements, but Montana Rail Link controls the rail corridor, which makes Montana Avenue a negotiation as much as a traffic problem. Without a workable change in crossings or operations, Helena’s own planning documents show the congestion will keep landing on drivers, businesses and public safety access every day.