Montana Highway 28 (MT 28) is an approximately state highway in the west of the US state of
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
. It begins at
MT 200 in
Plains and ends at
U.S. Highway 93 (US 93) in
Elmo; all but the first are within the
Flathead Indian Reservation
The Flathead Indian Reservation, located in western Montana on the Flathead River, is home to the Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai, and Pend d'Oreilles tribes – also known as the
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation. The ...
.
It serves as a key link in two alternate routes between
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...
, and
Kalispell
Kalispell (, Montana Salish: Ql̓ispé, Kutenai language: kqayaqawakⱡuʔnam) is a city in, and the county seat of, Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2020 census put Kalispell's population at 24,558. In Montana's northwest region, ...
.
Route description
MT 28 begins at the eastern outskirts of
Plains, at an intersection with
MT 200. Initially, the highway winds northeasterly as it climbs through steep forest terrain before descending towards the plains again. At the bottom of this ridge, MT 28 heads north as it meets
Secondary Highway 382 (S-382), and shortly after that intersects with
MT 77, the road to
Hot Springs
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
. About north, it meets Little Bitterroot Road, which connects to
S-211 and the city of
Ronan. As MT 28 continues north, it briefly enters
Lake County and the
Niarada area before it crosses into
Flathead County
Flathead County is in the U.S. state of Montana. At the 2020 census, its population was 104,357, making it the state's fourth most populous county. Its county seat is Kalispell. Its numerical designation (used in the issuance of license plates) ...
and curves eastward across the southernmost and western part of the county. After passing Browns Meadow Road, MT 28 passes through a
bighorn sheep
The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspec ...
crossing area (mileposts 37–40) before it re-enters Lake County. The highway then curves north and descends a final hill before curving east to its northern terminus at
US 93 on the north edge of
Elmo, overlooking
Flathead Lake
Flathead Lake ( fla, člq̓etkʷ, label=Salish, kut, yawuʔnik̓ ʔa·kuq̓nuk) is a large natural lake in northwest Montana.
The lake is a remnant of the ancient, massive glacial dammed lake, Lake Missoula of the era of the last interglacial. ...
.
History
MT 28 was originally routed through Hot Springs and
Camas as seen on the 1935-36 state maps,
with northbound traffic entering Hot Springs at the southwest corner of the city (today's Old Hot Springs Road), turning east on Central Avenue and north on Spring Street, and exiting the northeast corner of the city as it headed north and east to Camas (today's Chisholm Road).
The highway was rerouted along its current alignment east of those communities between Rainbow Lake (approximate milepost 11) and
Lonepine during 1937-39 (seen as under construction on the maps),
and completed as of the 1940 map.
was built .c. 1939 to connect Hot Springs to the new routing of MT 28. Traffic for Camas from the new routing follows the old routing west and south on Chisholm Road.
The most recent realignment widened and straightened the section of the highway from northern Sanders County through Flathead County in 2011.
Major intersections
See also
*
References
External links
{{Attached KML, display=title,inline
Transportation in Sanders County, Montana
028
Transportation in Lake County, Montana
Transportation in Flathead County, Montana