Public to weigh in on bridge work

MINERAL COUNTY – A proposal by the Montana Department of Transportation to repair the decks of twelve bridges in Mineral County is tentatively scheduled for 2016 and the public is being invited to comment on the work.

The work would include resurfacing and/or resealing existing bridge decks, upgrading guardrails and replacing or repairing support structure.

The bridges identified for maintenance stretch from approximately five miles west of Superior to five miles west of Alberton along Interstate 90.

According to MDT Missoula District Administrator Ed Toavs, the work is primarily preventative in nature and not a response to a particular issue or problem.

Toavs said the work is intended to extend the life of the bridges before replacing them is the only option.

“This is what we call a bridge preservation project,” Toavs said. “All the work will be mostly on the bridge deck. We are expecting, if the federal funding is there, to begin in the fall of 2016. We expect it to take about three to four months to complete the work.”

While the work is scheduled for a time of the year with a lower amount of traffic along the interstate, Toavs said he did understand possible public concern regarding traffic issues associated with major highway construction projects.

He said the proposal calls for complete traffic access through the area during the work.

“We don’t anticipate needing to build cross-overs,” Toavs said. “We think it can all be done with lane closures on each bridge deck. We would close one lane and one shoulder and traffic will still be able to get by.”

Toavs said the work would involve stripping off layers of the existing surface and replacing it with new concrete. The surface will then be treated with an epoxy substance to seal it from weather and traffic induced erosion. He said the epoxy will then be treated with another compound to give the surface texture and traction for vehicles.

According to Toavs, bridges in Montana are regularly inspected every few years. He said the structures in Mineral County were identified as needing work during the last survey.

“I would characterize this as periodic maintenance,” Toavs said. “It’s based on our bridge inspection reports. We are required to go out and inspect our bridges to see what condition they are in. The idea is to do that before the deck conditions get so bad, we have to take it off completely and replace the entire deck. That’s a lot more expensive.”

Due to the preliminary stages of the proposal, an estimated cost for the work was not yet available.

According to the press release, the public is invited to comment on the proposal by submitting written comments to the Montana Department of Transportation Missoula office at P.O. Box 7039, Missoula, MT or online at www.mdt.mt.gov/mdt/comment_form.shtml.