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your homegrown newspaper October 29, 2025
Vol. 22, No. 8
Further improvement projects on dangerous US 93 planned for future By Joyce Lobeck for the Valley Journal
Conservation easement pg. 5
Food drive pg. 6
Shakespeare in Schools pg. 8
LAKE COUNTY — There’s a bumper sticker that says: “Pray for me. I drive Highway 93.” US Route 93 is a significant U.S. Highway that runs from the Canadian border in Montana to the Mexican border in Arizona. It is known for being a scenic route, especially the portion in Montana between Missoula and Glacier National Park. It’s also known as a dangerous highway, although it isn’t ranked as the worst in the United States. That distinction goes to Interstate 95 along the East Coast. However, several two-lane stretches and hazardous weather conditions along with increasing traffic and the presence of wildlife, especially in Montana, make US 93 a route requiring caution. Its history of fatal accidents through Montana is illustrated by white crosses along the roadway that mark where people have lost their lives.
SUMMER GODDARD / VALLEY JOURNAL PHOTO
White crosses along US 93 near McDonald Lake Road mark the place where two people lost their lives in a highway driving accident.
Just in the 14 miles from St. Ignatius to Ronan, there are 28 white crosses and memorials to those killed on the highway. Soon there will be four more crosses to mark where four women died in an accident August 27 near mile marker 38.5 in the Post Creek Hill area. In recognition of the
need for improvements to the vital and busy transportation corridor, US 93 is a priority for the Montana Department of Transportation with two major projects planned: the US 93 North-Post Creek Hill project and the US 93 Ninepipe Eagle Pass Trail project. Construction is schedw w w.va l le yj our na l.net
uled to start in the fall of 2026 on improvements to the US 93 Post Creek Hill area. The Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects (NSFLTP) grant funding for these improvements has been secured. The NSFLTP grant program, managed by the Federal Highway Administra-
tion, provides competitive federal funding for the construction, reconstruction or rehabilitation of transportation facilities on or accessing federal and tribal lands. However, the construction cost of this complex project exceeds available see page 2