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State continues upgrades on public rest areas [1]
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Date: 2025-07-08
The only public rest area along a nearly 100-mile stretch of the heavily traveled Interstate 90 between Billings and the Wyoming border has reopened after more than a year of closure.
The rest stop, located between the town of Hardin and Billings, is the latest in a series of state construction projects looking to rehabilitate rest stops throughout the state.
In Hardin, crews improved the experience of taking a break along the side of a highway. There’s more parking space — 30 truck stalls and 22 vehicle stalls at the Westbound site, and 28 truck and 21 vehicle spaces at the Eastbound site — and buildings are now more energy efficient and ADA accessible, too. MDT also added fenced off pet areas, ADA-accessible picnic areas with shelters, and new waters supply and wastewater treatment facilities.
“Rest areas are essential for highway safety, offering drivers a safe and convenient place to stop, which helps reduce the risk of fatigue-related crashes,” Mike Taylor, MDT Billings District Administrator said in a press release. “With increasing travel across the region, it is important that these facilities are designed to accommodate growing demand and ensure accessibility for all. We are proud to open this new facility.”
As part of the facility expansion, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks got an updated Watercraft Inspection Site, and an MDT Weigh Station was added.
“We are excited to complete this important restoration project,” Nolan Smith, a construction manager for Dick Anderson Construction said in a release. “Our team worked hard to ensure the upgraded facilities not only meet the needs of today’s travelers but will accommodate future visitors for years to come.”
In recent years, the state also completed projects at Quartz Creek and converted the Gold Creek rest area, both along I-90, near Garrison into a facility geared toward large truck parking. Three other facilities have been rebuilt by CDM Smith — I-90 rest areas near Columbus and Hysham as well as one along I-15 near Divide between 2015-18, costing a little more than $19 million in total. A new rest area was also built along I-90 near Three Forks, closing one nearer to Bozeman.
Much of the work stems back to complaints in the 1990s about rest stops throughout Montana. One of those was safety, and the Hardin project added additional lighting as well as video surveillance.
In 2009, major changes in the state’s rest area program were initiated when it received dedicated funding and a more formalized process for prioritization of projects. Five years later, the 2014 Rest Area Plan was finalized and remains the guidebook for those projects within the state. It was amended in 2019 to add data and projections, Charity Burns, a MDT spokesperson, wrote in an email.
Two of the 69 rest stops in Montana remain closed, Bad Route near Glendive as well as the westbound Dena Mora (Lookout Pass) rest area on I-90. The Glendive rest area could be open by late fall, Burns added.
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