Montana’s Bridge Street Bridge has been closed for a year, but the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) will begin construction next week to replace the bridge and reconnect the town of Bigfork.
The bridge is one of two ways out of Bigfork and its closure has sparked safety concerns.
“So it is harder in the winter, the colder temperatures, specifically with the with the concrete and some of the stuff that has to happen. But we recognize it was important to get it done and in a timely fashion, wanted to try to not be in the heart of Big Fork through the summer months,” said MDT District Construction Engineer John Schmidt.
The $4 million project was announced last week during an open house.
Through federal, state and county funding, the historic Bridge Street Bridge will be replaced with a similar style bridge with upgrades to the strength of the structure and the pedestrian path.
“The truss will be slightly longer. It'll be a single-lane trust similar to the old one. One of the biggest improvements that we've made to the new truss with this little space that we have is we've improved the sidewalk width on the one side,” said MDT Bridge Engineer Lenci Kappes.
The project is expected to be completed in early July. The area will remain closed to pedestrians and vehicles. MDT is asking people to avoid the area during construction.
Source: KPAX, Yahoo!
