The Sweetgrass–Coutts Border Crossing connects the town of Sweet Grass, Montana with the village of

Coutts, Alberta Coutts ( ) is a village in southern Alberta, Canada that is a port of entry into the U.S. state of Montana. It is one of the busiest ports of entry on the Canada–United States border in western Canada. It connects Highway 4 to Interstate 15, ...

, on the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

I-15 I15 may refer to: * Interstate 15, a north–south Interstate Highway in the United States of America * Polikarpov I-15, a Soviet fighter aircraft * I15 (band) "Soulja Girl" is the second single from American rapper Soulja Boy's studio album '' ...

on the American side joins

Alberta Highway 4 Alberta Provincial Highway No. 4, commonly referred to as Highway 4, is a highway in southern Alberta, Canada that connects Highway 3 in Lethbridge to Interstate 15 in Montana. The highway was designated in 1999 as the First ...

on the Canadian side. Similarly,

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

and

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

(CP) connect. A primary conduit for cross border trade estimated at billion, it is the busiest crossing for both the province of

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and 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 ...

, and among the busiest west of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

Canadian side

Prior to the building of the CP across the prairies in the early 1880s, this part of Canada was accessed via the Macleod–Benton Trail from the Missouri River. The trail crossed the boundary about west of Coutts. In 1890, the Galt group built a Coutts–

Lethbridge, Alberta Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian Rocky Mountains contribute to ...

narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

. That year, a customs office opened using a room in the train station. In 1891, administrative oversight was transferred from Fort McLeod to the Port of Lethbridge. Oversight moved to the Port of Calgary in 1896, returning to Lethbridge in 1899. A combined customs office/residence building was completed in 1912. The status was upgraded to Port of Coutts in 1936. With the completion of the Calgary–

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers an area of and is the principal city of the Great Falls, M ...

highway in the mid-1940s, freight and passenger travel largely shifted from rail to highway. In the early 1950s, a new larger highways customs facility was built. In 2004, the US and Canada completed a million joint border inspection station which houses the agencies of both countries.

US side

In 1890, the Galt group built a Sweetgrass–Great Falls narrow gauge railway, facilitating the transport of coal from Lethbridge to Great Falls. In 1936, the US built an elaborate

Georgian Revival Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...

border station, which is listed in 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 v ...

. This station was replaced around 1979 with a single-story brick building when US Route 91 was replaced by I-15 a few feet to the west. This later building has since been demolished. The

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) operates at this crossing, one of three main points where all meat products cross the border from Western Canada. Sweetgrass MT Border Station 1997 - panoramio.jpg, US border station, Sweetgrass, MT, 1997. Sweetgrass_MT_border_station_1936.jpg, US border station, Sweetgrass MT, 1936.

COVID-19 protocols

In the fall of 2020, after several months of cross border travel restrictions due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the governments of Alberta and Canada announced a pilot program. Essential workers and Canadian citizens entering Canada through this and one other crossing needed to quarantine for only 48 hours instead of the usual 14 days if a COVID test was negative. In January 2022, protesting truck drivers "demanding an end to pandemic restrictions" created a blockade on the Canadian side of the crossing. Farmers in solidarity with the

Canada convoy protest A series of protests and blockades in Canada against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions, called the Freedom Convoy (french: Convoi de la liberté, links=no) by organizers, began in early 2022. The initial convoy movement was created t ...

also protested against the government's COVID-19 public health measures. Protesters refused to dismantle this blockade and allegedly assaulted

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

(RCMP). On February 1, after the RCMP created a roadblock on Highway 4, a protester driving at high speed hit a passenger vehicle and assaulted a resident. The protester allegedly had tried to ram RCMP members, which led to the collision with a civilian vehicle. On February 2, after five days of disruption, protesters moved vehicles to the shoulders, opening a lane in both directions. The RCMP discouraged travel to the area. That day, protesters held a meeting in the Smugglers Saloon with their lawyer Chad Williamson and rural

United Conservative Party The United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party. ...

MLAs The Max Launch Abort System (MLAS) was a proposed alternative to the Maxime Faget-invented "tractor" launch escape system (LES) that was planned for use by NASA for its Orion (spacecraft), Orion spacecraft in the event an Ares I malfunction du ...

Footnotes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweetgrass-Coutts Border Crossing Canada–United States border crossings Interstate 15 1890 establishments in the Northwest Territories 1890 establishments in Montana Buildings and structures in Toole County, Montana Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Montana Government buildings completed in 1935 National Register of Historic Places in Toole County, Montana 1935 establishments in Montana Dutch Colonial Revival architecture in the United States Custom houses on the National Register of Historic Places

Canadian side

US side

COVID-19 protocols

See also

Footnotes

References