Paul J. Erickson Memorial Highway

Paul J. Erickson

The Paul J. Erickson Memorial Highway is only a mere 18 miles of asphalt along storied Belt Creek Country, Montana.  But as travelers roll along those eighteen miles, The Paul J. Erickson Memorial Highway reminds them of The Life & Legacy of a Man Devoted to Family, Community and Fellow Fire Fighters. Paul J. Erickson's Memorial Highway is also implicitly forever bonded with Vince Kirol and Darcy Dengel.

Paul J. Erickson was a Classic Montana Man, born and bred in Belt.  From the very "git go," his ambition was to be an EMT and a Fire Fighter and to some day fly in the sky to help people survive in the rural Heart Of Montana.

Paul J Erickson became the youngest person in Montana ever to become EMT at the age of 15.

Paul J. Erickson succeeded in everything he did and served as a Role Model and a Life Example to all who knew him.  Allocades still flow forth attesting to his Wonderful Life.

Paul J. Erickson's exemplary Life was cut short February 6, 2007 along with Vince Kirol and Darcy Dengel, but his Life & Legacy remain and carry on.  The Paul J. Erickson Memorial Highway is unique on US 89 from Mexico to Canada.  The 18-mile stretch of asphalt serves not only to bring once again alive the memory of a Man who stood Forever Tall among his peers in Belt and Great Falls, Montana, but is also "Dedicated to Montana's First Responders who proudly risk their lives to serve, comfort, and protect."

THE PAUL J. ERICKSON MEMORIAL HIGHWAY is 17.97 miles in  length on Hwy US 89 between Milepost 53.5 and Milepost 71.47 (Begin Junction Hwy 427 and ending at junction with Hwy 200 near Armington Junction). The north end is at:  47.348889 -110.896667 The south end is at: 47.14174  -110.82329

Below is a two minute dash cam video of driving a portion of the south end of the Paul J. Erickson Memorial Highway.  If the embedded video won't load, use this link:
https://vimeo.com/269080908



Sources:

https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/local/2017/02/10/heroes-legacy-scholarships-sons-christmas-camps-mercy-flight-crew-remembered/97745510/

https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/local/2017/02/06/remembering-mercy-flight-years-later/97481082/

Paul J. Erickson's obituary:

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/greatfallstribune/obituary.aspx?n=paul-jason-erickson&pid=86383385

For an internal MDT memo regarding designation of The Paul J. Erickson Memorial Highway, see:
https://goo.gl/u9Qahi