Cascade County has requested its allocation of Bridge and Road Safety Accountability Act program funds through the Montana Department of Transportation.

The county requested $282,181.28 and the county is required to provide a 5 percent match of $14,109.06.

Les Payne, county planning director, told commissioners during their March 14 meeting that they plan to use this year’s allocation for preventative maintenance overlay, width and crown treatments of about 2.3 miles, including Wilkinson Lane, 34th Street Northwest, 31st Street Northwest and 27th Street Northwest.

City plans to use fuel tax funds for water main, street reconstruction project

The county’s match has been budgets from the Road Services Raw Materials fund, Payne said.

The BaRSAA funding was created in the 2017 Legislature with a graduated six cent increase in the motor fuel tax by fiscal year 2023. Under the law, each fiscal year, 35 percent or $9.8 million of the proceeds, whichever is greater, is allocated to Montana Department of Transportation and the remainder is allocated to local governments.

Road work underway on Upper River Road [2021]

Municipalities may request distribution of their funds beginning March 1 annually and local governments must match all BaRSAA distributions with a 5 percent funding match.

Allocations are calculated based on the statutory formula that is based on the city’s certified road mileage over the past year and the 2021 US Census Bureau population estimates.