Missoula Connect 2050 Long-Range Transportation Plan Update
Adopted July 2025
The Plan
The 2025 Missoula Connect LRTP Update is an update to our Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). The 25-year plan looks at all modes of transportation and identifies priorities for projects and programs, as well as how funding should be allocated. Relying on previous planning work and extensive community outreach, the 2025 Missoula Connect LRTP Update integrates existing plans and projects to create a sustainable transportation future that improves mobility and access across all modes for all Missoula area residents, workers, and visitors.
A strong transportation plan is critical to the success of the City of Missoula’s Land Use Plan and the Missoula County Growth Policy, and the 2025 Missoula Connect LRTP Update will knit together our land use and transportation goals. Missoula is on the move and we need to ensure we’re not only keeping pace but staying ahead. The following plan details improvements and policies for our urban transportation system within the MPO Planning Area.
How We Travel
Opportunities for this Missoula Connect LRTP Update
Transit as a Regional Backbone
Recommended Projects: Our Transportation Future
Shaped through community input, technical analysis, and collaboration with agency partners, the updated LRTP project list reflects what is required to meet immediate needs and prepare for the future while balancing priorities throughout the region. The recommendations prioritize projects that enhance safety, improve active transportation, maintain and preserve existing infrastructure, and support multimodal connectivity while considering the cumulative impact of projects that when implemented together can more greatly enhance connectivity to opportunities and destinations. The final recommended list of projects that is fiscally constrained is based on the MPOs estimated revenues through the implementation horizon, while some projects are classified as grant-contingent or illustrative due to funding or feasibility constraints, ensuring flexibility to adapt to future opportunities.
Near, Medium, and Long-Term Projects
LRTP projects are scored and then prioritized based on available funding. They are organized into three implementation timeframes: near-term (2025–2029), medium-term (2030–2039), and long-term (2040–2050).
Committed Projects
Committed projects have funding allocated or are currently underway within the current 5-year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP, federal funds) or the City’s or County’s Capital Improvement Programs (CIP local funds). Many of these projects are underway, with construction anticipated within the next 5 years.
Grant Contingent Projects
These projects represent transformative investments which can support catalytic development and regionally significant mobility priorities but are simply too expensive to fund without outside assistance and not compromise the MPO’s ability to implement a wide range of improvements across the region.
Illustrative Projects
All projects that are not included in the Recommended Project List are considered “illustrative.” The list of illustrative projects is used to supplement the recommended projects list and provides the region with the ability to keep concepts on the books as the funding environment, right-of-way ownership, or community need may change in the future. Illustrative projects can become recommended projects, and vice versa, through future evaluation and consideration.
Missoula Connect: Committed and Near Term Projects
The table below shows committed and near-term projects—those we can most likely anticipate will be completed in the next five years. For full project extents, descriptions, and costs, see the map below.
Missoula Connect: Project Map
The map below shows all projects—Near, Medium, and Long-Term, as well as Committed, Grant-Contingent, and Illustrative. Open map in a new window
Project ID | Project Name | Project Start | Project End | Project Phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
C180 | BUILD Grant Trails - Wye/Mullan Plan Collector Routes | Committed | ||
C101 | Higgins Ave Multimodal Improvements | Broadway St | Brooks St | Committed |
C103 | California Street Complete Street and reconstruction | River Rd | S 3rd St | Committed |
C107 | Front/Main 2-Way Conversion and Multimodal Improvements | Madison St | Orange St | Committed |
C116 | Hwy 200 Complete Street | Staple St | Highton St | Committed |
C121 | South Ave Complete Street and Shared-Use Path | Clements Rd | Reserve St | Committed |
C128 | Bitterroot River Crossing (South Ave Bridge) | South Ave | River Pines Rd | Committed |
C191 | Hwy 200 Railroad Bridge Replacement | N Easy St | Highton St | Committed |
C223 | Orange Street Tunnel Rehabilitation | N Orange St | Railroad Tracks | Committed |
C3 | Kiwanis Park Trail Widening | Ron's River Trail | Front St | Committed |
C66 | Scott St Area Complete Street | Otis St | Philips St | Committed |
C8 | Lower Miller Creek Complete Street | Linda Vist Blvd | Bigfork Rd | Committed |
C82 | Ron's River Trail Downtown | Madison St | Orange St | Committed |
I259 | California St/Toole Ave/Broadway St Intersection Improvements | Committed | ||
I264 | Orange Street and Cregg Lane Intersection Improvement | Committed | ||
C127 | Russell Street Reconstruction | Mount Ave | Sherwood St | Committed |
C188 | Ivy/Franklin/Park Neighborhood Greenway | Plymouth St | SW Higgins Ave | Committed |
C258 | California Street Bridge Renovation | California Foot Bridge | Flynn Lowney Ditch | Near term |
C45 | Kent/Central Neighborhood Greenway | Maurice Ave | 31st St | Near term |
C60 | Ron's River Trail Extension | Burton St | Orange St | Near term |
C72 | Bitterroot Trail Bridge at Clark Fork River | McCormick Park/Ogren Field | Broadway St | Near term |
C86 | Hwy 200 Shared-Use Path | Tamarack Rd | Staples St | Near term |
Signal Optimization Study | Near term | |||
I141 | Catlin St and 3rd St Intersection Improvements | Near term | ||
C119 | River Rd Complete Street | Reserve St | Russell St | Near term |
Recommended Programs and Policies
