Eight bridges under repair on I-90

Those traveling through Mineral County on Interstate 90 should continue to expect delays on a stretch of the road near Haugan.

The Montana Department of Transportation is working on eight bridges in the area and MDOT Assistant Construction Engineer Dean Jones said that the project will not be finished until at least Oct. 24.

“It’s a continual process, these bridges are getting old,” Jones said.

MDOT Maintenance Engineer Doug Moeller said that the bridges on I-90 are between 20 and 30 years old and the maintenance that they are doing is pretty routine.

“They’re starting to get in disrepair and need to be refurbished,” Moeller said.

He added that this summer’s work is only part of an extensive plan to refurbish all of the bridges along I-90 in Montana. The project actually started with a section of bridges near Lookout Pass and the eight bridges they are working on now are a continuation of that work.

“We’ll just keep marching east,” Moeller said.

Jones said that the bridges for the most part only need to be resurfaced, but some more damaged bridges have to have their decks entirely redone.

Moeller said that they plan to extend their work all the way to Drummond by the time it is finished.

According to Jones the budget to fix the eight bridges being worked on this summer is 8.6 million dollars. He said the work is being done by Morgen and Oswood, a contracting firm out of Great Falls.

Jones said that while the contractors are working hard and doing a fine job on the bridges, they are slightly behind schedule and may not finish by Oct. 24.

“They’re getting the work done and they’re doing a good job but it’s just taking them longer than they thought,” Jones said.

He added that they are watching the progress closely to make sure they do not fall too far behind.

“We’re watching that very closely. We have to have traffic back to four lanes by the time winter hits so that’s a big concern,” Jones said.

Jones did not specify how behind schedule they were but said that they should be done before winter.

Until the bridge work is finished, traffic in that area has been cut down to two thin lanes by diverting east-bound traffic into the west-bound lanes and turning the west bound lanes into one two-lane road. This will continue until the five bridges on the east-bound side are fixed. Then the same process will be used in reverse while three bridges on the west bound lanes are being repaired.

Moeller said that wide-load traffic in the corridor is restricted. Vehicles greater than 12 feet in width can only drive that section of road Monday through Thursday, from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.

Traffic is also slowed to 55 mph through the construction zone. Moeller said that it is essential for motorists to obey that speed limit to ensure their safety and that of those working on the bridges.

He added that traffic fines are doubled in construction zones and motorists should take extra care when traveling I-90.