Missoula council clears way for Mountain Line airport project

MISSOULA, Mont. — The Missoula City Council approved a development step for Mountain Line that moved plans forward for a new operations facility near the Missoula airport.

The vote approved the annexation of about 20 acres just off West Broadway. That opened the path for a new base for maintenance, operations and administration.

A city council vote confirmed the decision.

“Yes. Jordan. Yes. McCoy. Yes. Nelson. Yes. Nugent. Yes. Hunter. Yes. San. Yes. And the motion passes,” the council said.

Mountain Line said the project carried a price tag of $70 million and had been in the works for more than a decade. The agency said federal funding helped move it ahead and construction could start as soon as this summer.

The planned facility is expected to include bus storage, vehicle repair space and EV charging infrastructure. Officials said the project is meant to support future transit needs.

Jordan Hess, Mountain Line CEO, said the annexation mainly changed the property’s status so the project could move ahead under city rules.

“The city council approved the annexation of our new property, which is up by the airport. And so really, all that does is it brings the property into the city limits, and allows us to access city services and, and develop according to city standards. So it's kind of a technical process in the development,” Hess said.

Hess said Mountain Line had outgrown its current facility and needed more room to expand service and add vehicles.

“The facility that we're in, we've just we've frankly outgrown it. And we don't have the ability to, to add service, without, without more space, we don't have the ability to add vehicles. And so, this is about building the foundation for, you know, for the next four decades of service,” Hess said.

In the near term, leaders said the project could create hundreds of construction jobs. They also said it was designed to support rising ridership and expanded service over time.

The next step was finalizing permits before construction could officially begin. Officials said the project also brought a major investment into the local economy.