Another Highway 7 crash

There have recently been two more wrecks on Montana Highway 7 north of Ekalaka - one involving a cattle pot in September and the other involving the truck shown above. The latter occurred early Tuesday morning and blocked traffic for around two hours until the truck involved in the one-vehicle accident was moved. In February of 2022, Carter County commissioners backed a petition penned to the department of transportation, Governor Gianforte and the legislature regarding immediate necessary repair of Highway 7. The petition requested that the aforementioned parties immediately engage in remedial repair and improvement of Highway 7 by widening its southern portion approximately from mile marker 16 to mile marker 8 to the approximate dimensions of the much wider and foundationally sound northern portions of the highway by the end of fiscal year 2023.

The Eagle has reported on many crashes that have occurred on the stretch of highway described in recent years.

In November of 2022, Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) asked for the public to comment on a proposal to reconstruct approximately nine miles of Highway 7. The project was described as beginning roughly 8 miles north of Ekalaka, ending 2 miles north of the intersection with Secondary Highway 322 (Webster Road).

The projected is on MDTs radar, and is currently scheduled for reconstruction in fiscal year 2025.