Montana Highway 200

Montana Highway 200 (MT 200) in the U.S. state of Montana is a route running east–west covering the entire state of Montana. From the starting point at ID 200, near Heron, the highway runs east to ND 200 near Fairview. It is part of a chain of state highways numbered 200 which extend from Idaho across Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota. At 706.272 mi (1,136.635 km),[1] Montana Highway 200 is also the longest route signed as a state highway in the United States. Highway 200 helps to connect many small towns located in central Montana and the vast plains area of eastern Montana, to larger western Montana cities such as Great Falls and Missoula.

Montana Highway 200
MT 200 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MDT
Length	706.584 mi[1] (1,137.137 km)
Existed	October 1967[2]–present
Major junctions
West end	SH-200 at the Idaho state line
	US 93 from Ravalli to Missoula I-90 from Wye to Bonner US 12 from Missoula to Bonner US 287 near Milford Colony US 89 from Sun River to Armington I-15 from Vaughn to Great Falls US 87 from Great Falls to Grass Range US 191 from near Hobson to Lewistown
East end	ND 200 at the North Dakota state line
Location
Counties	Richland, Dawson, McCone, Garfield, Petroleum, Fergus, Judith Basin, Cascade, Lewis and Clark, Powell, Missoula, Lake, Sanders
Highway system
Montana Highway System Interstate U.S. State Secondary ← US 191 → US 212

Route description

Highway 200 and US 93 southbound

At its western end at the Idaho state line, MT 200 follows the Clark Fork River at the feet of the Cabinet Mountains eastward for 85 miles (137 km) until it meets the Flathead River at MT 135. It then follows the Flathead River east for 25 miles (40 km) to Dixon where the Flathead River turns north. MT 200 continues east following the Jocko River for 6 miles (10 km) until it intersects with US 93 at Ravalli. The two highways share a 27-mile (43 km) concurrency and travel south I-90, where they head east into Missoula. MT 200 follows I-90 through Missoula for 14 miles (23 km), with US 93 departing and US 12 joining the route along the way, leaving the interstate near Milltown. The highway runs parallel to the Blackfoot River and is subject to hazardous driving conditions in the winter, particularly due to black ice. From I-90, the road travels 74 miles (119 km) east to Lincoln, and another 39 miles (63 km) where it crosses Rogers Pass on the Continental Divide. It continues east for 21 miles (34 km) to Bowman's Corner where it intersects US 287, and then another 30 miles (48 km) to Sun River where it merges with US 89. The two highways travel for 8 miles (13 km) east to I-15 near Vaughn, where they join the interstate and travel south for 12 miles (19 km) to Great Falls.[1][3]

In Great Falls, MT 200 and US 89 leave I-15, where they become concurrent with MT 3, share a brief concurrency with I-315 (I-15 Business), and merge with US 87, following 10th Avenue South eastward through the city. The four routes of US 87, US 89, MT 3, and MT 200 share a 23-mile (37 km) concurrency from Great Falls to Armington Junction (near Belt), where US 89 heads south and the three remaining routes continue east for 65 miles (105 km). At Eddie's Corner (near Moore), the routes meet US 191 where MT 3 and US 191 share a common alignment to Harlowton. US 87, US 191, and MT 200 share a 14-mile (23 km) concurrency to Lewistown, where US 191 heads north, and US 87/MT 200 continue another 34 miles (55 km) to Grass Range. At Grass Range, MT 200 and US 87 end their 135-mile-long (217 km) concurrency and MT 200 continues east for 98 miles (158 km) to MT 59 in Jordan. MT 200 continues 68 miles (109 km) east to Circle where it intersects MT 13 and MT 200S (an auxiliary route that connects MT 200 with Glendive). It continues continues 71 miles (114 km) east until it intersects MT 16 and MT 23, where MT 16 and MT 200 head north into Sydney and share a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) concurrency. MT 200 leaves Sydney and travels northeast for 11 miles (18 km) to Fairview, where it turns east and crosses into North Dakota.[1][3]

MT 200 follows the following MDT corridors:

Corridor	Length (mi)	Length (km)	West end	East end	Notes
P-6 (C000006)[4]	115.787	186.341	Idaho state line	Ravalli
N-5 (C000005)[5]	27.215	43.798	Ravalli	Wye	US 93 concurrency
I-90 (C000090)[6]	13.881	22.339	Wye	Bonner	I-90 concurrency
N-24 (C000024)[7]	140.184	225.604	Bonner	Sun River
N-3 (C000003)[8]	7.763	12.493	Sun River	Vaughn	US 89 concurrency
I-15 (C000015)[9]	11.604	18.675	Vaughn	Great Falls	I-15 concurrency
I-315 (C000315)[10]	0.828	1.333	Great Falls		I-315 concurrency
N-60 (C000060)[11]	24.726	39.793	Great Falls	Armington	US 87 / US 89 / MT 3 concurrency
N-57(C000057)[12]	279.109	449.182	Armington	Circle	Includes US 87 / US 191 / MT 3 concurrencies
P-51 (C000051)[13]	71.047	114.339	Circle	Jct. MT 16 / MT 23 south of Sidney
N-20 (C000020)[14]	14.128	22.737	Jct. MT 16 / MT 23 south of Sydney	North Dakota state line	Includes MT 16 concurrency

History

Today's Highway 200 is part of a four-state chain of such routes, but it did not begin that way. It was assembled from other state and federal routes over the years.

The status of the routes and route segments that became Highway 200 in 1937.[15]

• The section from the Idaho line to Ravalli was the original MT 3.
• No concurrency from Ravalli to Missoula on US 93 or US 10.
• The section from Bonner to Sun River was then MT 20, and much was yet to be constructed. The route even followed segments of today's MT 21 to Augusta and future US 287 (then MT 33).
• No concurrency from Sun River to Grass Range along US 87.
• The section from Grass Range to Circle was part of the original MT 18.
• The remainder of MT 18 ran from Circle to Glendive, today's MT 200S.
• The section from Circle to Sidney was Montana 23, ending at then MT 14.
• MT 14 ran the rest of the way to Fairview.

By 1941, US 10 Alternate (US 10A) had replaced MT 3 as part of an alternate route from Wye to Spokane via Sandpoint and was now concurrent with US 93 to US 10.

Between 1948 and 1959, many construction projects and route redesignations with concurrencies made MT 20 from Bonner to Sidney the baseline for today's MT 200. MT 23N replaced MT 14 from Sidney to Fairview and MT 20S replaced MT 18 from Circle to Glendive.

In 1960, MT 20 picked up the Sidney to Fairview segment.

By 1969, the entire MT 20 had become MT 200 and included the former US 10A from Idaho to Wye, and following US 10/93 through Missoula. MT 20S became 200S.

Major junctions

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Sanders	​	0.000	0.000		SH-200 west – Sandpoint	Continuation into Idaho
		10.418	16.766		MT 56 north to US 2 – Troy	Southern terminus of MT 56
		27.959	44.996		S-472 south (Blue Slide Road)
		49.102	79.022		S-471 west (Prospect Creek Road)	Forest Highway 7, seasonal access to Thompson Pass (S-471) and Cooper Pass (FR-7623, Prospect Creek Road)
	Thompson Falls	49.544	79.733		S-472 north (Blue Slide Road)
	​	56.013	90.144		S-556 north (Thompson River Road)
	Plains	76.706	123.446		MT 28 east – Hot Springs, Kalispell, Glacier Park	Western terminus of MT 28
	​	85.030	136.843		MT 135 south to I-90 – St. Regis	Northern terminus of MT 135
	Perma	95.617	153.881		S-382 north – Hot Springs
	Dixon	109.750	176.626		S-212 north – National Bison Range, Moiese, Charlo
Lake	Ravalli	115.787	186.341		US 93 north – Kalispell	Western end of US 93 overlap
	​	126.674	203.862		S-559 east (Jocko Road)
Missoula	Wye	142.057	228.619		S-574 west (Frenchtown Frontage Road)
		143.002	230.139	96	I-90 west – Coeur d'Alene	Western end of I-90 overlap; exit numbers follow I-90
	​	146.610	235.946	99	Airway Boulevard
	Missoula	148.386	238.804	101	I-90 BL east / US 93 south (Reserve Street) – Hamilton	Eastern end of US 93 overlap
		151.449	243.734	104	Orange Street
		152.313	245.124	105	I-90 BL west / US 12 west (Van Buren Street)	Western end of US 12 overlap
	East Missoula	153.938	247.739	107	East Missoula
	West Riverside	156.883	252.479	109	I-90 east / US 12 east – Butte	Eastern end of I-90/US 12 overlap
	Bonner	157.962	254.215		S-210 east
	Clearwater Junction	189.463	304.911		MT 83 north – Seeley Lake, Kalispell, Glacier National Park
Powell	​	210.306	338.455		MT 141 south – Avon, Helmville
Lewis and Clark	​	240.582	387.179		S-279 south – Helena
	Rogers Pass	245.283	394.745		Continental Divide (elevation 5,610 ft or 1,710 m)
	​	258.021	415.245		S-434 south – Wolf Creek, Bean Lake
	Bowman's Corner	266.653	429.136		US 287 – Augusta, Wolf Creek
Cascade	Simms	284.907	458.513		MT 21 west – Augusta
		285.105	458.832		S-565 north
	Sun River	297.067	478.083		US 89 north – Fairfield, Choteau, Glacier National Park	Western end of US 89 overlap
	Vaughn	305.042	490.918	290	I-15 north – Shelby	Western end of I-15 overlap; exit numbers follow I-15
	​	309.140	497.513	286	Manchester
		313.018	503.754	282	To US 87 north / Northwest Bypass	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	Great Falls	314.997	506.939	280	I-15 BL south (Central Avenue W.) to US 87 north
		316.586	509.496	278 —	I-15 BL north / I-315 east / MT 3 east (10th Avenue South) I-15 south – Helena	Eastern end of I-15 overlap; western end of I-315 / I-15 Bus. / MT 3 overlap western termini of unsigned I-315 / I-15 BL / MT 3
		316.921	510.035	0	14th Street SW	Exit number follows I-15 Bus. (I-315)
		317.414	510.828		Fox Farm Road / 6th Street SW	Eastern terminus of I-315 and overlap
		318.842– 318.927	513.126– 513.263		I-15 BL (5th Street South / 6th Street South)	One way pair; eastern end of I-15 Bus. overlap
		319.580– 319.660	514.314– 514.443		US 87 north (14th Street South / 15th Street South) – Black Eagle, Havre	One way pair; western end of US 87 overlap
		322.760	519.432		US 87 Byp. north (57th Street) – Malmstrom AFB
	​	315.779	508.197		S-228 north / S-227 south – Highwood, Sand Coulee
		338.597	544.919		S-331 north – Belt
	Armington Junction	342.200	550.718		US 89 south – Monarch, White Sulphur Springs	Eastern end of US 89 overlap
Judith Basin	​	352.727	567.659		S-427 south – White Sulphur Springs
	Geyser	363.607	585.169		S-551 north – Geyser
	​	378.899	609.779		MT 80 north – Stanford, Fort Benton
		385.004	619.604		S-541 south
		391.951	630.784		S-207 north – Benchland
	Moccasin	396.968	638.858		S-426 north
	​	400.744	644.935		S-239 west – Hobson, Utica
Fergus	Eddies Corner	406.897	654.837		US 191 south / MT 3 south – Harlowton	Eastern end of MT 3 overlap; western end of US 191 overlap
	​	421.232	677.907		US 191 north / US 87 Byp. south (Truck Bypass)	Eastern end of US 191 overlap
	Lewistown	421.232	677.907		US 87 Byp. (1st Avenue North; Truck Bypass) to US 191 / S-238 south – Great Falls
	​	454.758	731.862		US 87 south / MT 19 north – Malta, Billings	Eastern end of US 87 overlap; southern terminus of MT 19
Petroleum	Winnett	477.375	768.261		S-244 south – Winnett
	​	499.215	803.409		S-500 south
Garfield	​	552.485	889.138		MT 59 south – Miles City
	Jordan	553.355	890.539		S-245 west – Hell Creek State Park, Airport	Access to Hell Creek State Park via S-543 (jct 280 ft from MT 200)
	​	558.383	898.630		S-341 north
		579.279	932.259		S-462 south
Garfield–McCone county line	Flowing Well	588.930	947.791		MT 24 north – Fort Peck
McCone	​	607.933	978.373		S-253 south – Brockway
		618.423	995.255		S-467 east
	Circle	619.496	996.982		S-252 west
		620.265	998.220		MT 13 north – Wolf Point
	​	621.309	999.900		MT 200S east – Glendive
Dawson	Richey	649.106	1,044.635		S-254 – Richey, Glendive
Richland	​	692.356	1,114.239		MT 16 south / MT 23 east – Watford City, Glendive	Western end of MT 16 overlap
	Sidney	694.924	1,118.372		MT 16 north – Regina, Culbertson, Airport	Eastern end of MT 16 overlap
	Fairview	706.223	1,136.556		S-201 west
	​	706.584	1,137.137		ND 200 east – Williston	Continuation into North Dakota
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

Related route

Montana Highway 200S
Location	Circle–Glendive
Length	45.280 mi[1] (72.871 km)
Existed	1967[16]–present

Montana Highway 200S (MT 200S) is a spur route of MT 200 that branches off the main route near Circle and ends at the I-94 business loop in Glendive. MT 200S was originally part of MT 18, renamed MT 20S when MT 23 from Circle to Sidney was renamed MT 20 and received its current name when MT 20 was renamed MT 200.[16] In the state road log, MT 200S picks up the mileposts from route N-57 (C000057) from mileposts 279.109 to 323.472, for a total of 45.280 miles (72.871 km).

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
McCone	​	0.000	0.000	MT 200 – Circle, Wolf Point, Sidney	Western terminus
Dawson	Lindsay	23.178	37.301	S-467 west
		23.965	38.568	S-470 north
	West Glendive	44.363	71.395	I-94 east – Bismark	I-94 exit 211; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		45.280	72.871	I-94 BL to I-94 west – City Centre, Miles City
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

See also

•  U.S. Roads portal

References

1. Data and Statistics Bureau (2019). Montana Road Log (PDF) (Report). Helena: Montana Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
2. "New Map Changes Route 20". The Havre Daily News. October 18, 1967. p. 4. Retrieved June 19, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Montana Department of Transportation (2019). Montana Official Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Helena: Montana Department of Transportation. §§ B-1, C-1, C-2, D-2, E-2, E-3, E-4, D-4, C-5, D-5, D-6, D-7, D-8, D-9, D-10, D-11, C-11, C-12. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
4. MDT 2019, pp. 171–175: MP 0.000–115.787
5. MDT 2019, pp. 57–58: MP 27.215–0.000
6. MDT 2019, pp. 12–13: MP 95.483–109.364
7. MDT 2019, pp. 95–98: MP 0.000–140.184
8. MDT 2019, pp. 52–53: MP 7.975–0.000
9. MDT 2019, p. 8: MP 289.607–278.063
10. MDT 2019, p. 25: MP 0.000–0.828
11. MDT 2019, pp. 119–121: MP 96.145–71.359
12. MDT 2019, pp. 113–118: MP 0.000–279.109
13. MDT 2019, p. 218: MP 0.000–71.047
14. MDT 2019, pp. 89–90: MP 49.605–63.833
15. Texaco; Rand McNally and Company (1937). Road map: Idaho, Mont., Wyo (Map). Chicago: Rand McNally and Company. Retrieved April 28, 2017 – via David Rumsey Map Library.
16. "Highway Route Number Changed". The Billings Gazette. October 2, 1967. p. 27. Retrieved June 19, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

• Historical Highway Maps from MDT