A heavily-trafficked two-lane artery stretching north from the center of town, Valley Drive could hardly be more central to circulation in greater East Helena.
Commuters from across the Southeast Valley use it to funnel into town and beyond. In between East Helena High and Prickly Pear Elementary – both opened on Valley Drive in the past decade – sits the local fire station. All three require easy road access, reliable signaling, and pedestrian crossings.
Yet the road is largely without sidewalks, turn lanes, and curbs. With just a few faded crosswalks, a stream of pedestrians – including grade schoolers – mostly walk next to traffic or on nearby lawns.
As a result, safety has plummeted as traffic has surged in recent years. Vehicular accidents leapt four-fold from 2020, when the high school opened, to 2023 (five to 20), while accidents on side streets also increased, according to the East Helena Police. In response, the city put together plans to widen and improve Valley Drive, and last summer, the Biden Administration awarded East Helena $10.2 million to get it done. But now the project is in doubt.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration sharply reduced funding for transportation projects and informed East Helena that the Valley Drive funds had been put on hold for review.
Former U.S. Senator Jon Tester, who championed the infrastructure bill that granted East Helena the road funds, said cancelling the project would be “absolutely one of the stupidest things to do.” He told The Monitor: “If they’re going to review it – the quicker the people get it, the better.”
Chad Nelson lives near Valley Drive and sees its traffic bottleneck every morning. Drivers often grow impatient and perform dangerous maneuvers that put pedestrians at risk. “As a resident who will be impacted directly, I really want this to go through,” said Nelson, who also views the lack of turn lanes as a safety issue, given the resulting long lines of waiting cars.
Beyond the city limits, Lewis & Clark County fixed up the north end of Valley Drive in 2023, widening it and adding a turn lane. But the city is responsible for addressing the stretch of Valley Drive south of Canyon Ferry Road. The plan involves widening the road and adding turn lanes, sidewalks, bike lanes and improved pedestrian crossings.
The Biden administration grant was part of the Department of Transportation’s RAISE program (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity), which includes $1.5 billion in grants to boost transport. President Trump turned RAISE into BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) and cut this year’s funding to one-tenth of its former size, $150 million.
The federal review of the Valley Drive grant aims to assess whether it aligns with the administration’s priorities. Having worked at the county for 15 years, County Grants and Purchasing Director Ann McCauley could not recall a similar instance in which an approved federal grant had been put on hold for review.
East Helena traffic is set for a transformational increase in the next 15 years. The town’s population could triple with housing developments by Habitat for Humanity and Prickly Pear Estates adding some 4,000 new homes in subdivisions that funnel toward Valley Drive.
East Helena still hopes to find a way to improve Valley Drive. Mayor Kelly Harris said he hoped to speak to Montana Congressman Troy Downing to build support for the release of the funds.
“You get a road that ran through a field where cows were and you add two subdivisions and two schools, you need turning lanes,” Harris told The Monitor. “It needs to be safe for kids.”