| US 93 | |||
| Get started | Lost Trail Pass | ||
| End | Eureka | ||
| Length | 286 mi | ||
| Length | 460 km | ||
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According to transporthint, US 93 is a US Highway in the US state of Montana. The road forms a north-south route through the west of the state, mostly through the Rocky Mountains. The road passes through the larger towns of Missoula and Kalispell. The road is 460 kilometers long.
Travel directions
At the 2138-meter high Lost Trail Pass, US 93 in Idaho enters the state of Montana from Twin Falls, where the Continental Divide is also located. The road then runs through an increasingly wide valley to the north. The road has a fairly through character, although no paved east-west routes are crossed until Missoula, 130 kilometers north. Just before Missoula, US 12 merges from Lewiston, after which both roads are equally double-numbered with 2×2 lanes to downtown Missoula. In Missoula, US 12 turns east toward Helena and I-90, while US 93 turns north from Missoula on Interstate 90.inserts. This double-numbering lasts only a few miles, after which US 93 continues north through the Flathead Indian Reservation, through a wide valley with peaks up to 2,500 meters to the east. The US 93 then runs on a tourist route along the fairly large Flathead Lake. Just before Kalispell the road widens to 2×2 lanes and in the center of town the US 2 crosses, which comes out of Spokane and leads to Shelby. After Kalispell, US 93 runs through a valley to the northwest, serving the last villages on the 120 kilometers to the border with Canada. On the Canadian side, Highway 93 in British Columbia connects to Cranbrook.
History
According to travelationary, US 93 was created in 1926. The route has not changed in Montana since then. In 1935 a fairly long stretch of road had already been paved from Hamilton to Whitefish, a distance of almost 300 kilometers. In 1938, the paved section was extended both north and south, just before the border with Canada and just before the border with Idaho. In 1940 the part over the Lost Trail Pass on the border with Idaho was asphalted. The northernmost 10 kilometers between Eureka and the border with Canada was asphalted around 1951.
US 93 is western Montana’s main north-south route and also passes through some more densely populated areas than elsewhere in the state, creating 4-lane portions of the route around Missoula and Kalispell. US 93 is therefore one of the few US Highways in Montana that has this.
South of Missoula, US 93 was widened to four lanes, the first stretch between Missoula and Lolo in the early 1980s, extended south to Hamilton between the late 1990s and mid-2000s. Parts of this route have no physical lane separation.
In 2012, the southern portion of the Kalispell bypass opened, with the northern portion following in 2016, allowing through traffic to avoid Main Street through downtown. The $140 million project cost—unadjusted for inflation—was the most expensive project in Montana history.
Traffic intensities
900 vehicles drive daily at the border with Idaho, rising to 14,000 vehicles at Hamilton and 22,000 vehicles in Missoula. From Missoula to Kalispell, 4,800 to 8,300 vehicles drive with up to 18,000 vehicles in Kalispell. Further north, US 93 is quieter with 2,500 vehicles per day.
Mountain Passes in Montana
Logan Pass in Glacier National Park.
This is an overview of mountain passes in Montana above 2,000 feet.
Characteristics
The mountain passes in Montana are primarily located in the Bitterroot Range on the border with Idaho. Colter Pass near the Wyoming border is the highest mountain pass at 2,453 feet, but is relatively unknown. Outside the Bitterroot Range there are only a few mountain passes of more than 2,000 meters, which is because the mountain areas of Montana are not contiguous and can therefore be relatively easily circumvented. In addition, the population density in Montana is very low, resulting in a thin road network.
Most of Montana’s passes are not very impressive, and most are easy to drive. Raynolds Pass is one of the easiest mountain passes in the northern United States to drive. Only Lost Trail Pass and Logan Pass are more twisty. Logan Pass is located on the Going-the-Sun Road and is considered one of the most beautiful tourist roads in the United States. Logan Pass is quite different from the other mountain passes, which often lie in dry steppe country, without much higher mountains around.
There are two major mountain passes of highways, both on the border with Idaho. The Monida Pass is crossed by Interstate 15 and is Montana’s only highway mountain pass above 2,000 feet. The lower Lookout Pass is crossed by Interstate 90.
All of Montana’s mountain passes are in the west or center of the state. The east and northeast is flatter. There is a lot of snow on some mountain passes in winter, Logan Pass is known to have up to 24 meters of snow at the pass height in spring. This pass takes a very long time to clear.
History
Montana’s passes are historically less significant, although the 1804-1805 Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through Chief Joseph Pass or Lost Trail Pass. This was out of ignorance because further south in Wyoming there were flatter mountain passes. This was because the expedition wanted to follow the course of the Missouri River as long as possible, and it continued north through Montana. The Bitterroot Range was the most difficult mountain range for the expedition to traverse. Most other mountain passes were only created at the end of the 19th century, some railway lines were built. The newest mountain pass is believed to be Logan Pass, which was inaugurated in 1933.
List
| Mountain pass | Route | Height (m) |
| Colter Pass | 2453 | |
| Bannock Pass | 2342 | |
| Kings Hill Pass | 2251 | |
| Chief Joseph Pass | 2210 | |
| Targhee Pass | 2158 | |
| Lost Trail Pass | 2140 | |
| Raynolds Pass | 2082 | |
| Monida Pass | 2079 | |
| Badger Pass | 2059 | |
| Logan Pass | 2028 |
