Congressman Zinke Secures Million Dollar Grant for Beaverhead County

DILLON, MT - Today, western Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke joined Beaverhead County Commissioners and local stakeholders for a ceremonial check presentation to celebrate the award of a one-million dollar grant to fund the building of a new bridge just north of Dillon.

The funding will go toward replacing a failing 99-year-old bridge that is a main artery for the county. The bridge is on an important emergency service, school bus, and commodity transportation route. According to county officials, the structural integrity of the bridge has been in jeopardy for years and required additional supports to maintain access. Renovating this bridge is the County’s top infrastructure priority.

“Infrastructure is not merely an expense, it’s an investment and repairing the 99-year-old bridge outside Dillon has been long overdue,” said Rep. Zinke. “Maintaining reliable infrastructure like roads and bridges is a basic function of government. I appreciate the County Commissioners for bringing this project to my attention and working with my team to secure the necessary funding to ensure kids can get to school and goods can get to market.”

Mike McGinley, Beaverhead County Commissioner said, “Getting funding for projects takes more than just snapping your fingers to make it happen. We’ve been working with Zinke and his team for nearly a year to make sure our community made the priority list and he’s delivered, and it’s appreciated.”

Beaverhead County made the request to Zinke’s office through the U.S. House of Representatives Community Project Funding policy which allows Members of the House to propose up to 15 local projects to receive funding from eligible grant programs. All projects must meet the published grant requirements and pass a series of legislative hurdles. Every project was approved by the House Appropriations Committee, which Zinke is a member, the full House of Representatives and included in the joint funding package approved by the House and Senate and signed by the President. A full list of Zinke’s projects that were funded can be found here.

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