Mountain Line seeks annexation of site for new facility

Martin Kidston

(Missoula Current) The City of Missoula will consider annexing 20 acres near the airport to aid Mountain Line in the construction of its new maintenance and operations facility – a project that's been years in the making.

The Missoula Urban Transportation District submitted the request to the city earlier this month, seeking to bring the property off Whipper Will Drive into city limits. The request also includes right-of-way along Whipper Will Drive to West Broadway.

City planner Tara Porcari said the request is supported by the city's annexation policy as it applies to the new Unified Development Code. The property is zoned industrial and employment.

“The site is intended for the development of Mountain Line's maintenance, operations and administration base,” Porcari said. “This is the first annexation going forward under the new UDC. Annexation needs to be supported by the annexation policy and the Land Use Plan should guide zoning.”

Mountain Line in 2023 landed a $39 million federal infrastructure grant to plan and build a new maintenance facility. The agency has been at its current northside facility for more than 40 years.

But as Mountain Line has grown along with Missoula, the current facility has become a barrier to growth, especially as Mountain Line converts to electric vehicles. A larger facility will lay the groundwork for the transit district to deliver additional service, agency officials have said.

“The city has been working closely with the folks from Mountain Line to help them pull a timeline together to pull building permits since they have federal grants for this project, which have an impending deadline,” Porcari said. “Supporting our public transit is really important in Missoula.”

The City Council will consider the annexation request on April 13.