Tester Secures More than 3.6 Million for Transportation Infrastructure in Indian Country

Funding will come from the Department of Transportation’s Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund

U.S. Senator Jon Tester today secured $3,617,217 through the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund to improve public transportation infrastructure across Indian County. This increased funding was made possible by the Senator’s bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

Tester negotiated the IIJA and helped pass it into law last year, and he was the only member of Montana’s Congressional delegation to support it.

“Modern, reliable infrastructure is critically important for keeping our families safe and our businesses up and running,” said Tester. “These public transportation upgrades across Indian Country will save lives and cut costs by making sure folks can get where they need to go safely and efficiently. I’m proud to have secured this funding to get these critical Tribal infrastructure projects off the ground.” 

A breakdown of the projects and funding can be found below:

• Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation
  • $88,917 – Design & Environment Assessment of Rocky Boy’s Shared-Use Path Project #2
  • $823,720 – Rocky Boy’s Turn Lane Project
• Crow Tribe of Montana
  • $394,239 – Crow Agency Multi-Use Pathway
  • $610,329 – Crow Tribe Pow Wow Ground Multi-Use Pathway Project – Phase 1
• Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes
  • $200,000 – BIA Route No. 1 Delineator Safety Improvement Project
  • $600,000 – Shoulder Widening and Clear Zone Improvements Route 1 – Calias Hill – Blair
  • $60,000 – Intersection Transverse Rumble Strips
  • $2,500 – Update the Tribe’s Existing Transportation Safety Plan
• Northern Cheyenne Tribe
  • $86,000 – Design of Lame Deer Regional Multi-Use Pathway Project – Phase 1
  • $706,512 – Northern Cheyenne Boundary Street Pathway
  • $45,000 – Speed Radar Trailer

Tester has led the charge to improve infrastructure in Montana’s rural communities and across Indian Country. Earlier this week, Tester secured more than $1 million in Safe Streets For All grants for the Blackfeet and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) through IIJA. The funding included $797,105 for the Blackfeet Safe Streets and Roads for All project and $368,000 for the CSKT Safe Streets for All project. This funding will be used to develop comprehensive safety action plans on the two reservations.

Last April, Tester secured more than $30 million for Montana’s rural and urban public transit, and earlier that year, Tester announced $11 million in partial-year transit funding for Montana. The funding will be used to expand and improve transit systems in urban and rural areas, buses and bus facilities, and transit designed for seniors and people with disabilities. 

Tester worked across the aisle to negotiate his bipartisan IIJA, which provided $65 billion in total for high-speed internet deployment in rural communities lacking internet access and affordable online connectivity. In addition to the $42.45 billion BEAD Program, Tester secured $1 billion for the NTIA’s Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program; $1.926 billion for the USDA’s ReConnect Program; $2 billion for the NTIA’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program; $2.75 billion for the Digital Equity Act Programs; and $14.2 billion for the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides $30 a month towards the cost of internet to eligible households. As of November 21, 2022, 32,312 households in Montana have enrolled in the ACP.