Keystone Pipeline: Rural Montana County Counted on Economic Benefit

There are about 1,400 miles of mostly gravel roads carving up the rolling hills of McCone County, Mont., and it is Allen Rosaaen’s job to keep them navigable.

Rosaaen is one of nine county road department workers responsible for clearing snow and ice from the roads that take a beating during Montana’s frigid winters, and shaping and grading the roads during the summers, plugging potholes and spreading gravel when and where they can.

McCone’s 400-plus farms rely on these rural roads to bring their wheat, oats, oilseeds and beans to market. But as the years go by – and as the county’s …