Federal regulations require the document, which helps illustrates Montana’s economy

The Montana Department of Transportation is beginning a federally-mandated process of updating its freight plan, a report that includes transportation statistics and looks at shipping problem areas.

It’s a good resource for understanding the goals and strategies the state has in place to address freight issues, said Heather Kuklo, a planner with MDT who works on the report.

“It outlines general trends in goods movements and how those goods are moved at the state level,” Kuklo wrote. “It allows an opportunity to formally engage with external freight stakeholders to hear about concerns and challenges that they may face, or on the other side, what they think works well.”

Last session the organization supported legislation around roundabouts, brought by Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton. Senate Bill 433 makes it legal for towing vehicles to deviate from their lane while moving through a multi-lane roundabout.

Roundabouts can pose an issue of safety for trucks, and the bill tried to address crowding that can happen around a vehicle moving through a traffic circle. Williams said the public needs to become aware of this new law.

“That’s the way (those roundabouts) are designed, but it was never really in law,” Williams said. “You have a truck going through there, they need to take up both lanes. But now the law is, yes, the truck has a right of way in there.”