Now, with a crucial nod from state and federal highway officials, she’s much closer to getting one.

After several years of talks and analysis, meetings with local backers and countless back-and-forth emails, the Federal Highway Administration and Montana Department of Transportation have agreed to let an aerial tram from the east edge of Butte cross over Interstate 15 on its way to Our Lady of the Rockies overlooking the Summit Valley.

There’s a giant challenge remaining — raising millions of dollars to fund the project — but serious efforts toward that can now begin.