Appropriations bill funds several local projects

The Daily Inter Lake

A multibillion-dollar federal appropriations bill passed by Congress on Saturday contains $194 million for Montana, including more than $17 million for projects in Flathead and Lake counties.

The biggest local winner is Going-to-the-Sun Road, which is slated to receive $5 million for ongoing repairs.

Montana's congressional delegation also secured another $3 million for the U.S. 93 bypass west of Kalispell. The bypass which is currently in the final design stage.

The remainder of the money needed to complete the estimated $28 million bypass project is contained in a six-year highway funding bill that is scheduled to be addressed by Congress early next year.

Other projects that will receive federal funding from the appropriations bill include:

. Swan Valley - $6 million for land and water conservation projects;

. Salish Kootenai College - $1.25 million for student housing;

. Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem - $988,000 for a grizzly bear DNA study;

. North Valley Hospital Foundation - $300,000;

. Whitefish - $191,000 for pedestrian and bicycle trails.

"There's a lot to be proud of in this bill," U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., said in a press release. "You can never be completely happy, but Montana comes out on the positive side, and I'm glad to see it."

Sen. Baucus, D-Mont., lauded the funding for Sun Road, calling it a "national treasure" that's in bad need of repair, and said the Kalispell bypass "will create jobs and help boost the economy in the Flathead."

The appropriations bill contains funding for other major projects around Montana, including:

. $18.3 million for The Blackfoot Challenge land management program;

. $7.3 million for the Fort Peck fish hatchery;

. $7 million for the Fort Peck/Dry Prairie water project;

. $5 million for a north bypass around Billings;

. $5 million for fishing access roads at the Fort Peck Reservoir;

. $3.9 million for land acquisition at the Missoula airport;

. $3.4 million for various wastewater and water system improvements;

. $2 million for various rural water projects;

. $750,000 for wastewater system improvements in Seeley Lake.