Montana Department of Transportation

SUMMARY of Road Safety Audit REPORT 

Fort Belknap Indian Community Road Safety Audit – Montana 

Highway 2 

Project Data 

Date: April 17, 2007 

Presentation of Preliminary findings to Tribal Council on April 19, 2007 

RSA Team and Participants: 

Dennis Trusty, PE, Director - Northern Plains Tribal Technical Assistance Program 

Dave Johnson, Highway Engineer - Rocky Mountain Region of Bureau of Indian Affairs 

Jim Combs, Traffic Engineer - Montana Department of Transportation 

Wes Cochran, Transportation Planner - Fort Belknap Transportation Department 

Stan Zander Jr., Technician - Fort Belknap Tribal Sanitation / Environmental Health 

Alan Main, Patrol Officer - Fort Belknap Law Enforcement 

Background: 

The RSA was conducted on Montana Highway 2, which is located in the Fort 

Belknap Indian Community. This section of Highway 2 is 23 miles in length with 

an Average Daily Traffic (ADT) of 5130 with a mix of traffic, including commercial 

vehicles. Highway 2 was reviewed from the reservation boundary in the west to 

the reservation boundary in the east. Montana Highway 2 was selected as an 

RSA site in a proactive approach to identify road safety issues that may lead to 

vehicular and pedestrian crashes. This RSA was conducted on April 17th with a 

team that was comprised of law enforcement, transportation, and other local 

officials. 

RSA Process: 

The RSA was performed by conducting field studies using accepted RSA 

practices of driving the reviewed road in both directions in the daytime and again 

at night along portions of Montana Highway 2 described above. In addition, the 

RSA team also examined crash history reports and statistics indicating number of 

crashes, type of crashes and when the crashes occurred. This data was 

reviewed and synthesized to help identify safety issues that exist along the 

corridor. 

 

RSA Stage: Existing Road 

Major RSA Findings 

Issue: Intersection Crashes

Location: Intersection of Montana Highway 2 and Route 9

Description of Safety Issue: 

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 Montana Department of Transportation

There are an insufficient number of signs that tell drivers that an intersection is 

approaching. 

Suggestion: 

The RSA Team recommends that the intersection of Montana Highway 2 and 

Route 9 incorporate more signage that includes Intersection Ahead and a Double 

Arrow sign at the intersection approaches. 

Other RSA Findings 

The RSA Team documented that some of the bridge and guard rail end 

treatments have rounded ends and others have square ends. As a result, the 

variations in bridge and guard rail end treatments may need to be studied further 

to see if it poses a safety concern. 

 

The RSA Team noted that there might be confusion by motorists as to which 

Intersection they wish to use in order to enter the Fort Belknap Agency. Note: 

Fort Belknap Agency is the headquarters Community (town/village) for the Fort 

Belknap Reservation. Fort Belknap Agency is the location for the Indian Health 

Center as well as many other Tribal offices. Fort Belknap Agency also includes 

Tribal family homes. The speed limit on Montana Highway 2 makes it difficult to 

read the current signs, which thus prevents motorists from making accurate 

decisions. 

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