Nails close down Montana 40
Cars drive along Montana 40 near the intersection with Whitefish Stage Road east of Whitefish. (Heidi Desch/Whitefish Pilot)
The Montana Highway Patrol has closed Montana 40 between Whitefish and Columbia Falls after someone dropped boxes of nails at several different locations on the roadway.
The road was closed beginning at 1:45 p.m. because it was “deemed too hazardous for travelers,” according to an advisory from the Montana Department of Transportation. At about 3:30 p.m. the road still remained closed.
Boxes of nails were reportedly blocking both lanes of travel and had fallen in several different locations beginning at the Montana 40 and U.S. Highway 93 intersection and continuing west until Hiltop Drive in Columbia Falls.
MHP and the Flathead County Sheriff’s office were on scene with the nails coned off and the highway department was en route to assist with cleanup.
The suspect vehicle was unknown.