It connects Highway 4 to Interstate 15, an important trade route (CANAMEX Corridor) between Alberta, American states along I-15, and Mexico.

[5] In 2004, a joint border facility opened in Coutts–Sweet Grass, Montana, housing both Canadian and American federal authorities.

[6] In February 2022, four men were arrested on allegations that they conspired to kill Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers.

[7] According to police, the plot was part of a wider plan to alter "Canada's political, justice and medical systems.

"[7] In December 2022, Coutts was described by CTV News as a "village divided" as residents identified as supporting or opposing the protest earlier that year.