by Todd Wlkinson
The push to upgrade US Highway 287, which runs through Montana and Wyoming, into an interstate honoring President Trump appears to be dead.
US Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who introduced legislation that would have turned Highway 287 into a four-lane I-47, also known as Interstate Trump, will no longer be a lawmaking priority for the remainder of his term, Cornyn says.
In early June, Cornyn, an incumbent, lost in the Texas GOP primary to controversial opponent Ken Paxton.
In an obvious bid to curry Trump’s favor and win his endorsement, Cornyn introduced the I-47 Future Interstate Act (the number commemorates Trump as the 47th President) in May. He said it would expand US 287 into a full-fledged interstate extending nearly 1,800 miles from Choteau, Montana to Port Arthur, Texas.
Even with what pundits called over-pandering to Trump’s ego, events did not go as Cornyn had hoped. Not only did he fail to receive the President’s endorsement after Trump intimated it was forthcoming, but he lost in the Republican Primary to Paxson, the Texas attorney general, who did receive Trump’s backing.
In defeat, Cornyn told a reporter with Heart Newspapers that the bill “may not make into my priorities the next seven months.” The online news site, The Daily Beast, offered a harsh interpretation: “Ousted GOP Senator Loses Interest In Suck-Up Project After Trump Snub.”
The unexpected bill caused a major stir in rural Montana, particularly the Madison Valley where the dell’s rural pastoral character and world-class wildlife migrations are prized by locals and others far beyond the region. Transforming Highway 287 from two to four lanes and making it a heavily-used commercial transport corridor for long-haul trucks would destroy its essence, concerned citizens said.
For many miles, Highway 287 flanks the Madison River that is famous globally to fly-fishers and it crosses several large ranches protected from development by conservation easements. Never has there been a vocal public call to overhaul the route; in fact, many complain that Highway 287 is being used as a short-cut alternative to I-15 that runs southward from Butte and has resulted in huge increases of truck traffic passing through downtown Ennis and through the valley.
One rancher in the Madison Valley, Jeff Laszlo, who owns the Granger Ranches that is the site of historic stream and wetland restoration and is protected from deelopment by conservation easement, acknowledged the odds of the interstate idea gaining traction was not high, but it still should be a wake up call about sprawl that’s already happening in the valley.
Opposition to Cornyn’s bill quickly appeared in other towns along the corridor, though some in Wyoming seemed to welcome the idea. A co-sponsor is US Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming who is not seeking re-election in November. It is unclear if she plans to keep the bill alive. You can read more about initial proposal in the story below published May 13.
