The Montana Department of Transportation and Riverside Contracting Inc. have reopened the northbound lanes of Interstate 15 through Wolf Creek. These lanes were closed earlier this spring and traffic used a crossover to the southbound lanes while crews worked to rehabilitate the northbound lanes, according to MDT.

During this construction season, about two feet of degraded roadway was removed from the northbound lanes of I-15. Crews then built the roadway back up with layers of gravel base before paving several layers of new asphalt to ensure the newly rehabilitated roadway can serve the traveling public for many years to come, according to MDT.

Paving on I-15 at Wolf Creek underway this week

“We still have some work remaining on the project,” Kas Manderle, MDT Great Falls district engineering project manager, said in a release. “Traffic will no longer use a crossover through the Wolf Creek canyon as part of this project.”

Crews have minor work left to complete this season and may work up until Nov. 15 or until weather no longer permits.

Construction on this project began in 2023 and crews will return in 2025 to complete various other tasks including applying a chip seal to the project area.

The purpose of the project is to improve the driving surface and enhance roadway safety features on the seven-mile stretch of I-15.

“The extreme climate and numerous freeze/thaw cycles in Wolf Creek Canyon have caused the roadway material to degrade to the point where routine maintenance is no longer practical,” according to MDT.

More information about the project is available here.

Current traffic conditions and up-to-date restrictions are available here.

Jenn Rowell

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