The Chief Mountain Border Crossing connects the town of

Babb, Montana Babb ( Blackfeet: , "Lakes Inside", or , “Cree Town”) is a small unincorporated farming and ranching community in Glacier County, Montana, United States, on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The community experiences a large influx of tourist ...

with

Pincher Creek, Alberta Pincher Creek is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located immediately east of the Canadian Rockies, west of Lethbridge and south of Calgary. History For centuries before European settlers reached this area and inhabited it, Indig ...

on the Canada–US border. Montana Highway 17 on the American side joins

Alberta Highway 6 Alberta Provincial Highway No. 6, commonly referred to as Highway 6, is a north-south highway in southern Alberta, Canada. It spans approximately from Alberta's border with Montana to Highway 3 (Crowsnest Highway). Highway&nbs ...

on the Canadian side, creating the only road border crossing within the

Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park The Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is the union of Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada and Glacier National Park in the United States. Both parks are declared Biosphere Reserves by UNESCO and their union as a World Heritage Site. H ...

. Poker Creek–Little Gold Creek and this crossing are the only ones closed in winter.

Canadian side

The idea for this road link, which would reduce the connection between

Waterton Lakes National Park Waterton Lakes National Park is a national park located in the southwest corner of Alberta, Canada. It borders Glacier National Park in Montana, United States. Waterton was the fourth Canadian national park, formed in 1895 and named after Waterto ...

and

Glacier National Park (U.S.) Glacier National Park is an American national park located in northwestern Montana, on the Canada–United States border, adjacent to the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. The park encompasses more than and includes parts of ...

by about , was suggested as early as 1915. To provide employment during the Great Depression, relief work camps operated from late 1932 to 1935, by which time the highway was almost complete. Called the Kennedy Creek Cut Off or Kennedy Creek-Belly River Road during construction, the agreed name of The Chief Mountain International Highway was suggested by Herbert Legg of Canada Customs. No formal ceremony marked the opening in June 1936. When Legg had earlier examined the proposed customs site on an uncompleted section of road, he discovered the surveyed route would create an unsatisfactory uphill grade to the boundary. In response, the engineer built the road farther down the hillside. At then the highest elevation in Canada for a customs office, snow covered the ground when it opened in a tent in May 1936. The unpaved highway became muddy during the spring thaw making travel difficult. A combined customs office/residence building was completed in 1937.

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

restrictions prevented the seasonal reopening of the crossing in 2020 and 2021.

US side

The highway was built over 13 months between the fall of 1934 and the summer of 1936 by Montana state employees and contractors. The Chief Mountain Border Station and Quarters, constructed in 1939, was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on May 20, 2008.

References

{{reflist Canada–United States border crossings Glacier National Park (U.S.) 1936 establishments in Montana 1936 establishments in Alberta

Canadian side

US side

See also

References