The Need for Action in Montana
For decades, infrastructure in Montana has suffered from a systemic lack of investment. The need for action is clear:
Montana’s infrastructure received a C grade on its Infrastructure Report Card. The American Jobs Plan will make a historic investment in our nation’s infrastructure.
- Roads and Bridges: In Montana there are 377 bridges and over 1,485 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 3.9% in Montana and on average, each driver pays $472 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges.
- Public Transportation: Montanans who take public transportation spend an extra 72.8% of their time commuting and non-White households are 1.3 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 27% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment.
- Resilient Infrastructure: From 2010 to 2020, Montana has experienced 12 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $5 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities’ recovery from disaster.
- Drinking Water: Over the next 20 years, Montana’s drinking water infrastructure will require $1.2 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities.
- Housing: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 57,000 renters in Montana are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis.
- Broadband: 28% of Montanans live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 64.6% of Montanans live in areas where there is only one such internet provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 15% of Montana households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America.
- Caregiving: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The President’s plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs.
- Child Care: In Montana, there is an estimated $191 million gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 60% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nation’s schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Montana and the country.
