fbpx

MDT Reopens U.S. 2 Over Marias Pass

Red Cross opens shelter in Browning; Governor declares state of emergency

By Justin Franz

Northwest Montana is still digging out from a massive winter storm that pummeled the region earlier this week.

On Friday, the Montana Department of Transportation reopened U.S. Highway 2 over Marias Pass. BNSF Railway’s main line over the pass remained closed due to a series of avalanches that came down east of Essex on Thursday.

BNSF Railway spokesperson Ross Lane said work crews were beginning to remove snow and they hoped to reopen the railroad later on in the day on Friday. BNSF’s main line across Montana has been closed twice in the last week, delaying the movement of freight and passengers across the state.

Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari said passengers aboard the eastbound and westbound Empire Builder passenger trains were waiting in Whitefish and Shelby until the tracks were clear.

Meanwhile, the Red Cross has opened up a shelter at the Browning Middle School to provide a safe place to sleep and warm meals to those impacted by the storm on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. More than 50 inches of snow fell in East Glacier Park earlier this week and the cleanup effort has been complicated by extreme winds.

Gov. Steve Bullock declared a state of emergency on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and Glacier and Lincoln counties. The declaration allows emergency funding to be funneled to the impacted areas and the National Guard to be deployed.

“This winter storm has proven extremely damaging to roadways, railways, and Montanans relying on access to critical community infrastructure,” Gov. Bullock said. “Thanks to strong partnerships at the local and state levels, communities are keeping their residents safe as record amounts of snow move through our state.”