Briefs: Infrastructure funding; Bear bites hiker at Glacier Park

Federal funding will help upgrade aging infrastructure in parts of Montana

The Montana Department of Transportation is getting nearly $72 million in federal funding to help repair the state’s aging infrastructure.

The money will pay for bridge and road safety in five Montana communities: Bozeman, Forsyth, Lewistown, Great Falls and Lodge Grass.

The Federal Highway Administration funds became available when other state transportation departments and federal programs were unable to spend money set aside for them prior to the end of the federal fiscal year.

The Montana Department of Transportation typically receives similar additional funding every year.

Montana’s required match rate is 13 percent ,which comes largely from state gas and diesel taxes.

Glacier Park trail remains closed after bear bites man

A section of a popular hiking trail in Glacier National Park remains closed following a bear encounter last week that left a hiker injured.

The Highline Trail is closed from Haystack Butte to Granite Park Chalet until park staff can determine the bear is no longer in the area.

A 35-year-old man was hiking with friends in foggy conditions last Thursday when he surprised the bear at close range. The grizzly bear bit the man’s leg. The injury was not life threatening.

His hiking party drove the animal off with bear spray and stopped the man’s bleeding with a first aid kit.

Park staff remind the public that bears are especially active in the fall. That’s when they’re eating as much as possible as they prepare to hibernate over the winter.