"Eliminating that delay will improve operations," Scott Fanning of Morrison-Maierle told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle at an April 2026 open house. He was pointing at a map of the Jackrabbit Lane railroad crossing, where he said 27 trains a day cause delays at the intersection with West Main Street.
That delay will eventually disappear. Before it does, a set of scheduled steps plays out along the same half-mile, and they have already started. In the last few weeks of August 2026, the Montana Department of Transportation staked the proposed right-of-way for the project. MDT says its right-of-way activities follow soon after, and that "an MDT representative or contracted appraiser will be in touch" with owners whose business or property will be affected.
For a buyer weighing a Belgrade property today, the useful question is less about the underpass itself and more about the years before it opens.
A Question the Seller May Not Be Able to Answer Yet
MDT's project FAQ is candid about what it doesn't know yet:
"right-of-way acquisition is expected"
"The exact plans for each property are not yet ready so we cannot say for certain how much land will be needed to complete the project."
This creates a timing problem for transactions along the corridor. The stakes are in the ground, and the appraisal contacts are just starting. Parcel-by-parcel detail isn't public. The FAQ also says business access will stay open throughout construction, but property access "may not always look the same and could shift depending on project needs." Nothing reported so far names a specific parcel as being acquired. So the practical step for anyone under contract near Jackrabbit between Madison Avenue and Main Street is to ask directly. Ask the seller whether MDT or an appraiser has made contact, and ask MDT whether the property falls inside the staked line.
MDT publishes its project hotline, 406-207-4484, which is answered Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Since August 1, 2026, text updates come through a new number: text BELGRADE to 406-302-9922.
Why This Half-Mile Carries So Much Weight
Belgrade's road network runs through a small number of openings. According to the city's new Transportation Master Plan, prepared by Fehr & Peers and submitted August 27, 2026, only the Airway Boulevard crossing of the BNSF line is grade separated. Every other crossing is at grade: Oregon Street, South Broadway, and Jackrabbit Lane. The plan says freight movements "can block north-south traffic for several minutes at a time, multiple times throughout the day."
Interstate 90 narrows things further. The same plan counts only two places to cross the interstate within the Belgrade planning area, at Jackrabbit Lane and at Airway Boulevard.
The train count depends on who is counting:
| Source | Figure | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Scott Fanning, Morrison-Maierle, April 2026 | 27 trains a day | Trains causing delay at Jackrabbit Lane and West Main Street |
| Federal Railroad Administration, cited in the August 2026 Transportation Master Plan | 31 trains a day, on average | Trains moving through the Jackrabbit, Thorpe Road, Broadway, and Oregon Street crossings |
| Federal Railroad Administration, same plan | Almost 18,000 vehicles a day, on average | Traffic at the Jackrabbit Lane crossing |
The two train counts measure slightly different things, but they point the same way. Close to 18,000 vehicles a day share one at-grade crossing with a busy freight line. Jackrabbit also carries traffic well beyond Belgrade. The plan describes it as a crucial north-south arterial for trips from Belgrade, from the airport, and from points west on I-90 down to Four Corners, Big Sky, and West Yellowstone.
The crossing also limits bus service. The plan names the Jackrabbit at-grade crossing as "one of the key barriers" to adding Streamline transit service in Belgrade, because stopped trains hurt on-time reliability. It expects the underpass to make expanded transit possible in other parts of town. So the crossing affects more than drive times. It also shapes which transportation options Belgrade can realistically add.
What Gets Built
MDT calls the project Jackrabbit – Madison to Main – Belgrade Urban. The April 2026 open-house display boards list the scope:
- Jackrabbit Lane widened to five lanes, two in each direction with a center turn lane
- Two-foot shoulders, curb and gutter, utility updates, and pedestrian and bicycle facilities on both sides
- An underpass so traffic can cross the railroad without stopping
- 1,500 feet of Main Street rebuilt from the Family Dollar to just east of Grogan Street, keeping roughly the current layout and adding a westbound right-turn lane at Jackrabbit
- At Madison Avenue, the island in the southwest corner removed, the slip lane replaced with a standard right-turn lane, and protected left-turn signals added
- A proposed connector road to Arden Drive, marked on the project map
The same boards list $19 million in federal funding, $3 million state, $1 million local, and a $25 million grant, which the Chronicle reports as a $48 million project. The grant is the 2024 federal RAISE award the city received with MDT. A February 2024 city funding letter estimated the project at $50,177,382. None of the sources explain the difference between that figure and $48 million.
The Order of Events
Because two MDT projects overlap in downtown Belgrade, the timeline matters more than any single date.
- Late August 2026. Proposed right-of-way staked on the Jackrabbit corridor, with MDT right-of-way contacts to follow.
- 2028 start for separate project. MDT's November 2025 update said a contracting team would be selected in 2025. The Belgrade Intersection Improvements project is scheduled to start construction in 2028.
- Spring 2028 to spring 2029. The Chronicle reports this as the construction window for the roundabout that will replace the four-way stop at Broadway and Main.
- Late 2028 or early 2029. Fanning's estimate for when underpass construction could start. He expects it to take roughly two years, with most of the disruption packed into one construction season running from spring to early winter.
MDT's own wording is careful. Construction "remains on schedule to begin in 2029, depending on completion of design and availability of funding." Anyone planning around these dates should treat them as scheduled, not guaranteed.
On how people will get around during the heaviest construction, the FAQ is direct. "Full closures and detours are expected given the nature of constructing an underpass/overpass," and "Thru traffic closures are likely. Local traffic will be able to continue to access businesses and properties, but through traffic will be limited." The traffic-control plan won't exist until a contractor is chosen. At the open house, Mayor Mike Meis said he hoped temporary roads could be built or intersections kept partly open, and he asked drivers for patience, since traffic may get worse before it improves.
Downtown's Parking Changes Come First
The roundabout is scheduled to finish before the underpass work peaks, and it changes how downtown Main Street works. MDT's boards say about 60 parking spaces on Main Street and in the lot at Main and South Broadway will be removed, with a replacement lot planned at the east end of Main. Fifteen trees will be removed and replaced. According to the Chronicle, that count includes a memorial tree in front of the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce, which will be relocated. The city also plans to tear down the condemned Belgrade Lounge on Main Street for parking, a step on hold until BNSF grants a permit.
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle's open-house report quoted people who work downtown. Darla Strand of Associated Construction Engineering Inc. on North Broadway said, "Businesses depend on-street parking." Luke Emberlin, who owns and operates Bridge Hearing Center with Barbara Emberlin, worried that patients with mobility issues would have farther to walk from parking, and Barbara Emberlin said the roundabout "puts some of our more vulnerable people at risk." Keith Gilyard, who lives about four blocks from the intersection, questioned whether downtown can be walkable with a roundabout. Justin Yahnig of Flanagan State Bank at 11 W. Main described how hard the current four-way stop outside the bank is for drivers.
MDT consultant project engineer Ben Rickman explained that a signal would have a bigger footprint, with turn lanes, narrower sidewalks, a longer pedestrian crossing, and even more lost parking. DOWL's Lisa Olmsted pointed to a pedestrian refuge island in the design. Both sides of that discussion bear on anyone buying close to downtown. The years from 2028 into 2029 will change how people get to and park on Main Street.
Growth Is Already Pulling Traffic Onto Jackrabbit
The corridor's commercial center is already shifting. Rosauers opened June 24, 2026 at 104 Bandana Street, just off Jackrabbit Lane. In June, KBZK counted seven retail projects on Jackrabbit totaling about 116,000 square feet. Chipotle and Chase Bank were under construction at the time, and Jimmy John's, Panda Express, Les Schwab, Opportunity Bank, and Town Pump were listed as planned. Each new destination south of the interstate adds trips to a road that has only two ways across I-90 and one at-grade way across the tracks. That's why the city's plan calls the underpass the top-priority project in its existing Long Range Transportation Plan.
Quick Answers
Is there a way to cross the tracks without waiting for trains today? Yes. According to the August 2026 Transportation Master Plan, Airway Boulevard is the only grade-separated crossing of the BNSF line in Belgrade.
Will businesses on the corridor close during construction? MDT's FAQ says access to businesses will stay open throughout the project, though how you get in may change as work moves along.
Where can I see the plans myself? MDT posts the open-house boards and quarterly updates on its Belgrade Urban project page. The Chronicle's open-house report covers the roundabout discussion.
If you're weighing a home anywhere between Madison Avenue and downtown Main Street, Kelley Schlauch can help you build the right questions about MDT right-of-way contact and the 2028 to 2030 construction window into your offer timeline. For legal or appraisal questions, check with MDT and your own advisors. If you already own near the corridor, start with a free home valuation so you know where you stand before the stakes turn into construction.
