Opportunity Link (OL) secured funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for regional planning in Northcentral Montana. Over 36 months, OL engaged regional governments, planners, stakeholders and residents to develop citizen involvement, government coordination, an approach for emerging jobs and contracts, and metrics to evaluate progress. OL also conducted community-based training in seven sub-regions.

OL created coordinated plan elements in the following areas: transportation, housing, economic development, and livable communities. OL also created subcommittees in four key areas: transportation, infrastructure, workforce development, and green industries.

For this project, the Western Transportation Institute provided technical assistance to OL and to the transportation subcommittee to meet the requirements of the HUD grant. Specific technical assistance was based on community and regional needs. WTE provided staff to participate in the transportation subcommittee meetings, and served as subject matter experts on transportation issues.