I-90 bridge work continues in county

By MONTE TURNER

Mineral Independent

Most everyone is putting their lawn furniture away. About to drain the garden hoses and clean out the camper and gear. Scoop the pine needles out of the gutters and knock down the last of the wasp nests.

Back the boat under the shelter and cover the golf clubs before storing them in the garage.

Another ending season of… ROAD CONSTRUCTION. Yet Interstate 90 continues to have detours over a couple of bridges and flaggers are still there to make sure we’re not driving over 35 mph, so what are they still doing?

“Consider it like a 60,000 and 100,000 mile checkup on your car,” says Bob Vosen, District Administrator for the Missoula area of the Montana Department of Transportation. “We’ve been doing inspections and repairs like cleaning up the loading plates which is the connection point between the steel and concrete. Removing rust and resealing. This will continue on these 2 bridges into November and then we’ll most likely have to return in the spring to complete the repainting.”

I-90 in Mineral County has road construction every year. Orange candles and barrels are omnipresent on the surface or in the access with driver delays customary.

The bridges at around mile markers 45 and 49 are on a 2-year maintenance and inspection plan as Vosen estimates they must be close to 50 years old.

“They are completely safe, and we keep them that way with the schedule they have on inspections. You could consider this year ‘heavy maintenance’ but again, they are ship-shape.”

Vosen explained that these are part of a district-wide program that includes 18 bridges with $6.7 million in repair needs and these 2 having a maintenance price tag of around $600,000 total.