Montana adds truck parking with new rest area

April 5, 2024

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New truck parking is now available for drivers traveling through Montana.

On Friday, April 5, the Montana Department of Transportation opened the new Headwaters Rest Area. Located on U.S. Highway 287 near the I-90 interchange, the new facility will “include many modern design and safety improvements,” according to the state DOT.

The new rest area will include 35 truck/RV parking spaces.

As for what those safety improvements entail, project plans include:

Site, picnic structure and building design eliminates blind spots
Parking, sidewalks, picnic areas and building include safety lighting
LED lighting covers 100% of pedestrian and parking areas
Eight private restrooms with LED lights; battery back-ups will provide light in the event of power failure
Security systems cover buildings and parking areas with surveillance-class media server for storage of video, ability to view/access video onsite, and error messaging to notify of system failure
License plate cameras with infrared illumination will capture data at rest area entrance and exit with illuminator at the entrance and exit of the rest area
Rest area site is nearby planned future Public Safety Facility
Site design enables local Sheriff and Montana Highway Patrol to view rest area from US 287 and conduct random drive-through patrol of site

Additionally, a Law Enforcement Office has been constructed on-site that will be utilized by the Broadwater County Sheriff, Montana Highway Patrol, and MDT Motor Carrier Services. The department said the on-site office will be the first of its kind in the state.

Officials said the new facility was constructed to replace a “dated and undersized” rest area located nearby at the 19th Avenue interchange in Bozeman, Mont.

“MDT appreciates the public’s patience as this project took longer than expected,” Larry Flynn, MDT Interim Director, said in a statement. “This has been a long process. We look forward to opening the Headwaters Rest Area to better serve the needs of the traveling public.”
Construction on the new rest area started in 2021. At that time, MDT announced a projected completion date of summer 2023. The department did not provide details regarding the lengthy delay.

In February, a local news station inquired about the delayed construction and was told the department was working through the “final details” of the project and hoped to have the rest area open “in the near future.”

When pressed about what those final details included, and what the timeline for completion would be, MDT told the station “the final details involve the project completion and once the date is determined MDT will announce the opening.”

The station did discover there was an issue with the rest area’s water system, but officials said the problem had been resolved and was not holding up the project’s completion. LL