Someone asked me when Main was first paved. I don’t have a clue.

Anyone know the answer?

I'll start out by saying I don't know the answer to Hal's question, but the following information may help to narrow it down.

The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) maintains historical data on this route (and many others), but the data is very sparse prior to 1934. Main Street was likely improved/paved over the years on a number of different road segments at different times. MDT data reveals that there was "city construction" in 1918 and 1932, but the data does not include the locations of the segments that were improved or what type of improvement was done.

Main St. was added to the Federal Aid Primary Highway system in October of 1922, which made it eligible for federal and state funding.

The first MDT record of surface type appears as a paved surface in 1943, but I suspect it was paved long before that.

My guess is the record of when Main Street was first paved lies with the City of Miles City.

This site talks a bit about the highways leading to Miles City. It shows this 1927 map:



This legend for 1927 Rand McNally maps implies a red-dotted line is an "all weather" road but possibly gravel or macadam. A solid red line implies paved.

Main St. may still have been paved at this time but this seems to indicate that in 1927 the highways leading into Miles City were not.

Here you go: link

Miles City, Mont. -- Contract for paving Main street with bitulithic pavement has been awarded to Hanlon & Oakes Company at $66,792.

The Contractor -- November 1, 1916

If that paving work started in 1917 this could be the 100th anniversary of Main Street being paved.

[Edited by David Schott (4/24/2017 10:53:50 AM)]

Thanks folks, I'll pass this along.

I was way off with my guess, I thought it was around 1909-10.

First they had to pull up the oil-soaked wood blocks they had used as paving. Starting right now 100 years ago.

See the promoter in me says MC should have a "Paved Main Street" party. Any chance to bring people to town, get em drunk, and have them spend their money!

A tip of the hat to David Schott. I had tried finding the answer using Google Search without success, yet David found relevant results. I love facts supported by documentation. Thanks to all who posted.

Thanks, Gary. It did take a while to locate that info. It gave me a chance to re-read some of the "Dusting Off the Old Ones" stories.