Zinke’s Requests for Over $27 Million in Western Montana Roads, Bridges, and Water Infrastructure Projects Signed into Law

Bringing home the bacon!

Washington, D.C. - Today, Western Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke announced that President Trump has signed the Fiscal Year 2026 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriation Bill into law. The legislation includes more than $27 million in funding for bridges, roads, and water infrastructure projects that will go directly to six Western Montana counties. As a member of the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Subcommittee, Congressman Zinke played a central role in shaping the final bill to ensure rural Montana infrastructure needs were prioritized.

With the enactment of H.R. 7148, which includes funding for Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Financial Services and General Government, National Security, the Department of State, and Related Programs, 11 of the 12 Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bills have now been signed into law and the partial government shutdown has ended.

"For years, rural Montana has sent its tax dollars to Washington and watched our critical infrastructure projects get pushed aside while places like Baltimore, Seattle, and Chicago got funding," said Zinke. "This funding corrects that. It puts money back into communities that depend on one bridge, one road, or one water treatment plant to function. These projects came directly from local leaders and county commissioners who live with the consequences of federal neglect. That local input matters more than guidance written by bureaucrats who have never set foot in Western Montana."

Zinke's Community Project Funding Requests:

• $10,000,000 for the Seeley Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant
• $10,000,000 for the Sanders County Noxon Bridge Replacement, Phase I
• $2,500,000 for the Ravalli County Wastewater Treatment Plant
• $454,000 for Rural Airport Reconstruction and Emergency Services Expansion
• $1,150,000 for Repaving Marten Creek Road
• $1,000,000 for the Flathead County North Fork Road Guardrails
• $1,000,000 for the Groff Lane Bridge Replacement
• $1,000,000 for Old Corvallis Road Repair

Additional Montana Wins:

• Recommends the Department of Transportation prioritize low-population rural airports and report on counties eligible for the Essential Air Service program.
• Focuses bridge replacement and rehabilitation resources on counties with fewer than 20,000 residents.
• Requires FAA reporting on addressing staffing shortages at federal contract air traffic control towers.
• Recommends expanding eligibility for rural highway infrastructure grants in counties with fewer than 50,000 residents.
• Advances modernization planning for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy campus.
• Ensures transparency and stakeholder engagement for UAS Beyond Visual Line of Sight rulemaking.
• Blocks a federal commercial motor vehicle speed limiter mandate.
• Prohibits the use of funding to require driver-facing cameras in federal apprenticeship programs.
• Provides funding for Project-Based Rental Assistance.
• Creates a Housing Choice Voucher Pilot Program focused on a localized approach in the Rocky Mountain West, targeting markets with low rental availability.
• Includes report language allowing positive rent payment data to be used to build and improve credit history in affordable housing programs.

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