← 2026-10-29 edition · Sourced reporting
Broadview data-center deal covers five miles of roads—not power or water approval
As of 2026-10-29 · Publication details
First-phase agreement reported October 27, 2026 · miles of reported haul route
Five miles in Yellowstone County, per MTFP. Road lengths are comparable; they are not costs, power use or the area of an approved data center.
Yellowstone County, Montana: October 27 MTFP original reporting of a 3–0 first-phase road agreement with Big Sky Digital Infrastructure. Executed contract not captured; approval and terms remain attributed to MTFP.
Yellowstone County’s new agreement is meant to make the developer cover road wear from early work near Broadview, MTFP reports. Its five-mile haul route is concrete; approval of power, water and land use is outside this agreement. [1] [2] [4]
Still open: Executed agreement and October 27 vote/minutes were not captured; approval and terms are attributed to MTFP. All open questions ↓
Read the original report and its linked road-agreement document →Read the full story
The reporting question: What does Yellowstone County’s new road agreement cover, and who is supposed to pay?
The action is about public roads
Phoebe Tollefson’s October 27 MTFP report says commissioners approved the agreement 3–0. It names Big Sky Digital Infrastructure as the developer and describes a first phase involving roads and a well site. This is a local infrastructure obligation, not evidence that an AI facility is operating. [1] [4]
Who is supposed to carry the cost?
MTFP reports a developer-funded road improvement, inventories and weekly inspections, a county-approved maintenance contractor and a $250,000 surety bond. The chart compares the two segments of the five-mile haul route. Neither the mileage nor the bond establishes the project’s total cost or proves taxpayers can face no other exposure. [3] [2]
The next decisions are separate
Plecker expressly separated road use from land-use, water and electricity approval. The company’s November 1 work expectation and May 2027 well target remain plans. The executed contract and fresh vote record were not captured here; use the original report to inspect the reported obligations and its document link, keeping the older unsigned draft distinct from a signed agreement. [4] [5]
Archive photograph · 2014-10-05 · Broadview, Montana
- 1 source record
- Original reporting
- Montana Free Press
How we know5 scoped claims · 1 source recordView evidence
Each claim keeps its full assertion, date, source passage and limits. Source counts describe records, not independent corroboration.
1.A limited agreementAttributed
MTFP reports that Yellowstone County commissioners voted 3–0 on October 27 to finalize a first-phase road agreement with Big Sky Digital Infrastructure.
- Scope
- Yellowstone County, Montana: October 27 MTFP original reporting of a 3–0 first-phase road agreement with Big Sky Digital Infrastructure. Executed contract not captured; approval and terms remain attributed to MTFP.
- Evidence passage
- Opening paragraphs: commission vote and first-phase road-use agreement.
- As of
- 2026-10-29
- Limit
- Attributed approval report, not NTDS inspection of the executed contract.
Retrieved 2026-10-29T08:05:04.752Z · Montana Free Press
Approval and contract terms are reported by MTFP; executed agreement and vote record were not independently captured. An accessible older unsigned draft is not treated as final.
2.Five miles, two road segmentsAttributed
The reported haul route includes one mile of Heiken Road and four miles of Buffalo Trail Road to the company’s property.
- Scope
- Yellowstone County, Montana: October 27 MTFP original reporting of a 3–0 first-phase road agreement with Big Sky Digital Infrastructure. Executed contract not captured; approval and terms remain attributed to MTFP.
- Evidence passage
- Route paragraph beginning The agreement pertains to the route.
- As of
- 2026-10-29
- Limit
- Distances are route lengths, not construction costs or project scale.
Retrieved 2026-10-29T08:05:04.752Z · Montana Free Press
Approval and contract terms are reported by MTFP; executed agreement and vote record were not independently captured. An accessible older unsigned draft is not treated as final.
3.Developer obligationsAttributed
MTFP reports developer-paid road work, condition inventories, weekly inspections, a county-approved maintenance contractor and a $250,000 surety bond.
- Scope
- Yellowstone County, Montana: October 27 MTFP original reporting of a 3–0 first-phase road agreement with Big Sky Digital Infrastructure. Executed contract not captured; approval and terms remain attributed to MTFP.
- Evidence passage
- Road-condition, weekly-inspection, contractor and surety-bond paragraphs.
- As of
- 2026-10-29
- Limit
- A bond is not total project cost, a payment already made, or a proven limit on all public exposure.
Retrieved 2026-10-29T08:05:04.752Z · Montana Free Press
Approval and contract terms are reported by MTFP; executed agreement and vote record were not independently captured. An accessible older unsigned draft is not treated as final.
4.What the deal does not grantAttributed
Public Works Director Monica Plecker said the agreement concerned road condition and use, not approval for land use, water or electricity, MTFP reports.
- Scope
- Yellowstone County, Montana: October 27 MTFP original reporting of a 3–0 first-phase road agreement with Big Sky Digital Infrastructure. Executed contract not captured; approval and terms remain attributed to MTFP.
- Evidence passage
- Plecker comments on scope; later paragraphs on initial phase and future agreement.
- As of
- 2026-10-29
- Limit
- Does not establish the status of every separate permit or prove an operating facility.
Retrieved 2026-10-29T08:05:04.752Z · Montana Free Press
Approval and contract terms are reported by MTFP; executed agreement and vote record were not independently captured. An accessible older unsigned draft is not treated as final.
5.Construction dates remain plansAttributed
The report describes a company expectation to start November 1 and a planned well-drilling date of May 1, 2027.
- Scope
- Yellowstone County, Montana: October 27 MTFP original reporting of a 3–0 first-phase road agreement with Big Sky Digital Infrastructure. Executed contract not captured; approval and terms remain attributed to MTFP.
- Evidence passage
- Final paragraphs describing company plans and initial-phase work.
- As of
- 2026-10-29
- Limit
- Neither date is an observed start or completion; future phases may need another agreement.
Retrieved 2026-10-29T08:05:04.752Z · Montana Free Press
Approval and contract terms are reported by MTFP; executed agreement and vote record were not independently captured. An accessible older unsigned draft is not treated as final.
What remains open.
- Executed agreement and October 27 vote/minutes were not captured; approval and terms are attributed to MTFP.
- The county-hosted October draft has blank signature fields and is outside installed capture policy; it cannot authenticate execution.
- No verified electricity agreement, water right, paid customer, project financing or delivery outcome is established.
- The bond is not adopted as total spending or a ceiling on all county exposure.
Reopen this account if the named original record is corrected or if an executed agreement, new permit or verified work record changes the stated scope.
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