Culbertson seeks ARPA and grant funds to pair MDT Highway 2 work with town water-main upgrades

Town Engineer Jeremy Fadness told the council across multiple meetings that Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) work on Highway 2 will include storm-water and curb design and creates an opportunity for the town to replace aging water mains.

The council approved a $47,500 WWC Engineering work order to begin design for the water-main replacement, and Jeremy reported he filed a State Revolving Fund (SRF) application the same year. Council directed staff to pursue Tier 2 ARPA funds and voted to request that Roosevelt County reserve $13,581.44 of its ARPA allocation to serve as a 25% match for a Tier 2 application. Fadness said the Department of Commerce would pay for 20 hours of engineering assistance on the grant application.

The MDT timeline repeatedly moved the project into 2022–2023 planning windows; the council discussed coordinating schedules so MDT paving and town water-main construction could be done efficiently and avoid repeated trenching. The council also discussed tying drainage at the Sports Complex into MDT storm drains.

Next steps: the town will finalize design work, submit the Tier 2 ARPA application and coordinate with Roosevelt County and MDT on scheduling and matching funds.