Montana Sen. Max Baucus arrives in the Flathead Valley this week and will spend most of Wednesday working on U.S. Highway 93 north of Kalispell as one of his signature “work days.”
The senator, who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee and was a key architect of the $800-billion Jobs Bill, will be working alongside employees from Knife River and Sletten Construction. An e-mail from the senator’s office:
Baucus has secured nearly $67 million for Highway 93 projects since 2003. In addition, the Montana Department of Transportation has invested more than $57 million since 1996 to address more than 20 miles of needs along Highway 93, primarily as a result of being able to rely on annual federal funding that Baucus secured in the past three Highway bills. The highway is the highest volume, non-Interstate highway in Montana and a vital lifeline for the economy of the Flathead and Northwestern Montana.
Baucus has done work days ranging from driving an 18-wheeler to working in a pharmacy to building houses. He started doing the works days more than 16 years ago and says the days give him valuable insight into the challenges Montanans face every day.