Montana Crash Hot Spots: The Most Dangerous Roads and Intersections

Where Montana Traffic Deaths Happen

Montana lost 198 people on its roads in 2025, according to preliminary Highway Patrol numbers published by MDT, down from 206 the year before. Most of those deaths don’t happen in Billings or Missoula traffic. They happen on two-lane highways and interstates, where a car leaves the road at speed and help can be an hour away.

MDT’s statewide highway safety plan groups its work under safe roads, safe speeds and vehicles, safe road users and post-crash care. Under safe road users, the behaviors it singles out are the familiar ones: seat belt use, impaired driving and distraction.

Montana’s Highest-Risk Corridors

These roads keep coming up in Montana crash coverage. Here’s what makes each one tricky, with figures from MDT, city plans and local police where they’ve been published.

1. Interstate 90 (I-90): Through Billings and Yellowstone County

I-90 runs along the south side of Billings, roughly mile markers 445 to 455, carrying commuters from Laurel and Lockwood, freight on the state’s main east-west route, and summer travelers bound for Yellowstone. At the King Avenue, 27th Street and Lockwood interchanges, local traffic merges with long-haul trucks, and the speed differences cause rear-end and lane-change crashes.

Summer brings construction lane shifts. West of town the interstate heads through Big Timber and Livingston and over Bozeman Pass, where wind and black ice turn up every winter.

2. Billings City Streets: King Avenue West, Main Street (U.S. 87) and Downtown

Most of the city’s worst intersections are on the West End. Police data put King Avenue West at South 20th Street West at the top of the list: 39 crashes there in 2022, the most of any Billings intersection, according to the Billings Police Department’s 2022 annual report as reported by KTVQ. King Avenue shows up three times in that top 10, along with three of the Shiloh Road roundabouts.

In the Heights, Main Street carries U.S. 87, and its intersections at Lake Elmo Drive (31 crashes in 2022) and Wicks Lane (20) made the same list. Downtown, Broadway and the numbered streets around it are where people walk, and a turning driver can miss someone in the crosswalk. The city’s Community Transportation Safety Plan update (2023) put the toll at about 57 people killed or seriously injured a year, based on crash data through 2019.

3. Interstate 15 (I-15) and 10th Avenue South: Great Falls to Butte

I-15 is Montana’s north-south spine, from Monida Pass at the Idaho line through Butte, Helena and Great Falls to the Canadian border. The worrying stretches are the mountain ones: Elk Park Pass north of Butte and Wolf Creek Canyon between Helena and Great Falls. Long gaps between services, high speeds and sudden snow squalls lead to fatigue and loss-of-control crashes.

In Great Falls, the trouble moves to 10th Avenue South, the city’s main commercial strip. Great Falls police records showed 89 crashes between the 20th Street South and 23rd Street South intersections from 2021 to early 2024, and an MDT traffic study found dedicated left-turn signals were justified at both, as Montana Right Now reported. Left turns across several lanes of traffic cause the classic 10th Avenue wreck.

4. Reserve Street and I-90: Missoula

Reserve Street carries U.S. 93 up the west side of Missoula to I-90, past big-box stores, hotels and driveways, and crossing it on foot is hard. From 2019 to 2023 the corridor saw more than 60 serious injuries and three deaths, according to figures Missoula’s transportation policy committee sent to federal officials, as reported by the Missoula Current.

Planners name the American Way, River Road, Stockyard Road and Old U.S. 93 intersections as the hot spots for fatal and serious-injury crashes, and pedestrians have been killed or badly hurt at crossings near 7th Street and Homewood Suites. At the north end, the I-90 interchange piles freeway traffic onto Reserve at rush hour. Brooks Street, the older route into town, has its own reputation for odd angles and too many curb cuts.

5. U.S. Route 93: Bitterroot Valley to Kalispell

South of Missoula, U.S. 93 runs up the Bitterroot Valley through Lolo and Hamilton, with deer on the shoulders and fog along the river in fall. North of town it climbs Evaro Hill and crosses the Flathead Reservation through Arlee, St. Ignatius, Ronan and Polson before following Flathead Lake toward Kalispell.

Much of the reservation stretch is two lanes with farm driveways, wetlands and heavy summer traffic. MTN News reported 25 people killed between Missoula and Kalispell from January 2024 to mid-October 2025, including four women killed near Post Creek in August 2025. In Kalispell, U.S. 93 becomes Main Street, where the city’s safety plan counted 258 crashes from 2018 to 2022.

6. U.S. Route 2: Kalispell to Glacier

East of Kalispell, U.S. 2 runs through Evergreen and Columbia Falls to West Glacier, and in summer it fills with visitors who don’t know the road. Past Columbia Falls it narrows to two lanes with limited shoulders, deer and elk, and drivers who get impatient behind a camper and pass where they shouldn’t.

West of town it heads for Libby through timber country with long curves and little cell service. The same highway crosses the whole Hi-Line to North Dakota, where winter blowing snow can close it.

7. U.S. Route 191: Gallatin Canyon, Four Corners to Big Sky

The canyon road to Big Sky is narrow, curvy and full of ski traffic and trucks. An MDT corridor study counted 1,077 crashes from Four Corners to Beaver Creek between 2009 and 2018, seven of them fatal, and about a quarter involved animals. Newer state data show 412 crashes from Four Corners to Big Sky in 2019 to 2021, almost 140 a year, as the Daily Montanan reported in January 2026.

The S-curve at the Lava Lake trailhead alone had 52 crashes in the study period. With almost no places to pass, frustrated drivers gamble on short straightaways, and winter brings ice in the shaded stretches.

8. Bozeman: Main Street, 19th Avenue and I-90

Bozeman has grown fast. Main Street downtown is packed with pedestrians, bikes and parallel parkers, while 19th Avenue is the main north-south arterial from the I-90 interchange past Montana State. Turning traffic at its signals and speeding between them are the usual problems.

I-90 through the Gallatin Valley has its own numbers. MDT’s corridor study from the West Three Forks interchange to Bear Canyon Road, through Three Forks, Manhattan, Belgrade and Bozeman, logged 1,559 crashes from 2020 to 2024, 1,220 on the interstate itself and 339 at interchanges.

More High-Crash Locations Across Montana

Police records, corridor studies and local safety plans have put numbers on specific roads and intersections. These are the ones with published figures.

Some of these are getting work, though money is the sticking point. Missoula’s Reserve Street plan sets out five design packages, from quick fixes like lighting, speed management and better crossings to protected left turns, and planners expect the work to take five to ten years once federal grants come through, KPAX reported. Kalispell’s Main Street plan, adopted in August 2024, would cut Main Street to three lanes and add curb extensions and flashing-beacon crosswalks. On U.S. 191, MDT has been seeking a grant for the U.S. 191 and MT 64 intersection at Big Sky and is looking at future Lava Lake fixes and possible passing lanes, while on U.S. 93 MDT says it lost the grant for the Ninepipes section and lacks the funds to build it.

How to Stay Safe on Montana’s Most Dangerous Roads

Montana’s roads don’t forgive much, so the basics matter. A few habits help, whether you’re driving, walking or riding.

For Drivers:

1. Buckle up, every seat, every trip: MDT says about half the people killed on Montana roads from 2011 to 2020 weren’t properly buckled.
2. Never drive impaired: About a third of Montana traffic deaths in 2023 involved alcohol-impaired driving. Plan the ride home before the first drink.
3. Pass only where you can see: On U.S. 93 across the Flathead Reservation and U.S. 191 in Gallatin Canyon, wait for a passing lane or a long, clear straightaway.
4. Watch for wildlife at dawn and dusk: Deer and elk are everywhere. If one steps out, brake firmly and stay in your lane rather than swerving.
5. Drive for the weather: Bozeman Pass, Elk Park Pass and Wolf Creek Canyon can ice over fast. Slow down well before the curve, not in it.
6. Take turns slowly on city strips: On King Avenue West, Reserve Street and 10th Avenue South, wait for a real gap before turning left across traffic.

For Pedestrians:

1. Cross at signals: On wide roads like Reserve Street and 10th Avenue South, crossing mid-block gives drivers no time to react.
2. Be seen at night: Wear something bright or carry a light where streetlights are far apart.
3. Make eye contact: Don’t step out until you’re sure the driver has seen you and stopped.

For Cyclists:

1. Use trails and bike lanes: Missoula, Bozeman and Kalispell have off-street trails away from the busiest arterials.
2. Light up: Front and rear lights help, even in daylight on shaded canyon roads.
3. Ride predictably on highways: On shoulders along U.S. 2 or U.S. 93, keep a straight line and watch for trailers and side mirrors.

General Tips:

1. Check conditions before you go: MDT’s 511 travel map shows closures, crashes and road conditions statewide.
2. Carry winter gear: Blankets, water and a charged phone matter on empty stretches of I-90, I-15 and the Hi-Line.
3. Know where help is: Cell service drops out in canyons and on reservation highways, so note mile markers as you drive.

What to Do If You’re Injured in a Montana Car Accident

A crash on I-90, U.S. 93 or a busy Billings intersection can leave you hurt and unsure what to do first. What you do in the first hours and days matters.

1. Call 911. Even if nobody seems badly hurt, get law enforcement to the scene. They’ll write the official crash report, which is what insurers go by. If anyone is seriously injured, ask for an ambulance.
2. Get checked out. Concussions and internal injuries don’t always show up right away. Go to the ER or urgent care, and follow up with your own doctor in the days after.
3. Document the scene if you can. If it’s safe, photograph the vehicles, the damage and the license plates, plus skid marks, signs, weather and road conditions. Write down the nearest mile marker, get witnesses’ names and phone numbers, and swap insurance information with the other driver without admitting fault.
4. Be careful with adjusters. The other driver’s insurance company may call soon after the crash. You can politely decline a recorded statement until you have your crash report and understand your options.
5. Keep everything. Medical records, bills, repair estimates, missed work, and every letter or email from an insurer.

Which agency has your report depends on where you crashed. Inside a city or town, the local police department takes it; anywhere else, it’s the county sheriff or the Montana Highway Patrol. Our Montana crash report guide walks through how to request a copy from each.

Can’t tell which agency responded, or would rather skip the paperwork? We can get a copy of your report for you at no cost.

Montana Crash Hot Spot Questions

More Montana Crash Guides

County accident news: Yellowstone County · Cascade County · Missoula County · Gallatin County · Flathead County · Park County · Lake County

Nearby states: Idaho crash hot spots · Wyoming crash hot spots · North Dakota crash hot spots

For the latest, crashes from around the state are posted in Montana accident news and our recent accident alerts.