Tester Announces $12.7 Million BUILD Grant for Kalispell Bypass

Investment Will Expand Highway 93 to Four Lanes, Support Hundreds of Local Businesses

(U.S. Senate)-U.S. Senator Jon Tester today announced that Kalispell will receive a $12.7 million grant to further complete the city’s bypass project.

The Better Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant, formerly known as the TIGER Grant, was awarded today to the City of Kalispell to widen two miles of U.S. Highway 93 south of town and replace the roundabout near Foys Lake.

“The Kalispell bypass is building new opportunities for local businesses to create jobs and strengthen the economy,” Tester said. “For every dollar we invest in our transportation infrastructure we see major returns and Kalispell’s leaders deserve big praise for their relentless push to secure this major grant.”

Tester sent a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in July in support of the City of Kalispell’s BUILD Grant application. Today, Secretary Chao personally called Tester to announced that Kalispell will receive the BUILD Grant.

Highway 93 serves as a main travel corridor for the over 3 million annual visitors to Glacier National Park and the access point for hundreds of local businesses. The Kalispell bypass will reduce the travel congestion across the Flathead Valley and create new development opportunities for business and commerce.

Planning for the Kalispell bypass began in 1994 to create a smooth and safe passage way across the valley, while investing in new opportunities for local business. To date, 500 businesses, government officials, and agencies have endorsed the Kalispell bypass project.

Tester helped secure a $10 million TIGER Grant for the city of Kalispell to create the new Glacier Rail Park in 2015 to spur economic growth in downtown and he also secured a $16 million TIGER Grant to complete construction of the Beartooth Highway earlier this year to unlock access to Yellowstone National Park.