Lots of people have heard ot Thompson River Road.
(Actually there are two - - the forest road and the logging trunk road.)
Lolo National Forest floated the idea of paving the forest road about 15 years ago.
There was a huge outcry against doing so by many traditional users and environmentalists.
The forest service rationale was the dust and runoff from heavy use.
Little used forest roads can be magical.
Heavily used forest roads can be pretty tough slogging.
I chose not to ride it many years ago (and I ride lots of unpaved roads)
because it was so dusty and heavily washboarded. (only did a mile or so)
Forest road surfaces can vary greatly from year to year and even within a season.
Unless you have a fat tire bike, I wouldn't try it early, soon after snowmelt.
Because of the massive Northern Pacific Railway federal land grant - 47 million acres -
there is a checkerboard of private landholdings all over western Montana.
From Northern Pacific to Plum Creek Timber to Weyerhauser now.
Plum Creek moved increasinly into land development.
So the Thompson River corridor is hardly wilderness.
Given the logging and recreation traffic,
I thought it made sense to pave Thompson River Road.
Of course, paving just leads to even more traffic, I know.
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2002/12/09/02-30978/environmental-impact-statement-sanders-and-flathead-counties-mt