UPDATE: I90 Now Open Between Livingston & Big Timber
3:41 p.m. Feb. 1, 2023 Update: I90 has been reopened by the MT Department of Transportation.
6:45 a.m. Update: I90 is STILL shut down between Big Timber and Livingston, Montana on Wednesday morning. I just checked the MDT 511 road app confirming that the closure is still in place.
I was driving back from the state capitol in Helena on Wednesday afternoon and the roads were fine from Helena to Bozeman. Once I got over the Bozeman Pass, traffic started getting severely backed up, as I90 was shut down through Livingston. Traffic was being diverted through town, and it probably took me 2 1/2 or 3 hours just to get through Livingston.
After passing through Livingston, I noticed that the eastbound lanes on I90 were still open and I was able to make it back to Billings. Emergency vehicles were lining the interstate exits blocking Westbound traffic from Big Timber to Livingston. It probably took me about 7 hours to drive from Helena to Billings. After taking it slow and making it home, I heard they later shut down traffic in both directions between Big Timber and Livingston.
I got a kick out of Keith Allen's tweet below, where he was calling out the people trying to cut in line when traffic got backed up just West of Livingston.
Highway is closed west of Livingston at times we crawl forward. Jackasses keep jumping the line and finally these two truckers inched out and blocked further asshats. #HeroTruckers #MontanaIsFull
While the signage on the interstate said the road was closed due to high winds, calls to MDT dispatch confirmed that icy roads between the two towns was the main issue. The Billings Gazette reported Wednesday night that the road could still be closed for another 24 hours.
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