Baucus improves ability to acquire highway funds

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., has moved up the food chain in his ability to acquire federal highway funding, a change that is expected to yield dividends for high-profile projects such as Glacier National Park's Going-to-the-Sun Road rebuild and construction of a Kalispell bypass route.

Baucus is set to succeed Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, as the ranking Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the Senate panel that crafts the federal government's long-range transportation spending bill.

Reid is leaving the post to serve as the new Senate Democratic leader.

In a Tuesday press release, Baucus said the change will put him in a stronger position to secure federal highway money. Last year, the Senate and House approved differing versions of a six-year transportation spending bill that became bogged down in conference committee, largely because of pre-election politics.

Congress approved an extension on federal highway spending at 2004 levels until a compromise on the long-term spending plan could be reached.

"Max is confident we're going to get a bill this year," Baucus staffer Barrett Kaiser said. "They gave themselves more time to iron out their differences. With a new Congress and with Max's new position, he is confident that not only can we get a highway bill passed, but we can get one that is good for Montana."

Kaiser said the Sun Road reconstruction project, in development for nearly 10 years, and a Billings highway bypass have been steadfast priorities for Baucus.

But there are other top-drawer projects, such as the Kalispell bypass and continued funding for widening or improving segments of U.S. 93.

The Sun Road project, which is focused mainly on rebuilding the alpine portion of the historic highway, is estimated to have an inflation-adjusted cost of $140 million to $170 million over roughly seven years under a plan approved by the National Park Service.

That translates to annual spending in the range of $10 million to $23 million a year, a large amount considering the National Park Service's entire annual roads budget is about $150 million.

To address the high cost, Baucus has proposed a plan that would double the funding available for national-park roads, and put a priority on roads that have at least one million users a year, that are in a park that borders another country or crosses state lines, and roads that were built before 1940.

Sun Road and the Beartooth Highway on Yellowstone National Park's northeast corner both meet those criteria.

Kaiser said Baucus is prepared to pursue another option for Sun Road if necessary - an appropriation for the entire project that is separate from the park service roads budget.

Another component in paying for the project is increased funding through annual highway appropriations.

From his seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., has been instrumental in securing boosted annual appropriations. And this week, Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., took up a seat on the House Appropriations Committee, an appointment that is expected to give the state delegation more clout in annual spending bills.

Last year, the park received a substantial boost in funding to carry out work on segments of Sun Road that were most in need of repair.

But the park's strategy for completing the entire rebuild project requires a sustained increase in funding in order to expedite the project and reduce economic impacts on surrounding businesses and communities.

The six-year transportation bill will be critical in paying for that approach.

Meanwhile, the Kalispell highway bypass project is expected to cost $28 million. Some of that money has already been appropriated for a plan that would provide a route from U.S. 93 south of town, crossing U.S. 2 west of Kalispell and rejoining U.S. 93 from West Reserve Drive north of town.

With funding available, state officials anticipate construction to begin within five years.

In 1998 Baucus secured a 60 percent increase in Montana's share of highway dollars; about $1.2 billion was pumped into the state's economy. Baucus contends that money helped sustain more than 11,000 jobs in the state.