Locals get a look at I-90 bridge projects
Representatives from Montana Department of Transportation, Morrison-Maierle and RBCI answered questions and explained the process involved on replacing two bridges west of Alberton and reinforcing another one. The design phase for the bridge replacement should be completed next fall. (Monte Turner/Mineral Independent)
Fall, winter, spring and road construction are Montana’s four seasons, many will tease. But summer is when the big projects must take place, so the rule of thumb is to plan for the commute to take longer.
At the end of next summer, the Montana Department of Transportation will unveil the completion of two bridge design projects.
The first one is about 10 miles west of Alberton which will be painting portions of the I-90 Elizabeth Bridge below the bridge deck (driving surface) to slow corrosion. This will be followed by the replacement of the I-90 Alberton Gorge Bridge including the pillars down to the Clark Fork River. Once completed it will have upgraded guardrails and a redesigned drainage system.
In the fall of 2026, the design plan for the Cyr Bridge should be completed. This is about 5 miles west of Alberton and will be similar to the Alberton Gorge Bridge replacing the bridge deck, pillars and a new drainage system and state of the art guardrails. The pillars might be blasted out but the cleanup would be intensive as no debris can be left on the ground or in the river, so they will probably have the pillars sawed into chunks for transportation.
This is another portion in the design phase as the engineers work with Montana FWP for the best removal method.
This was all explained in the Alberton School cafeteria at an open house recently.
Phill Forbes and Jim Scoles are engineers with Morrison-Maierle and shared their views.
“It’s a nice sized project. It’s the challenge of getting to the river and the height and the size of the bridge that makes it an exciting project,” said Scoles. “But as far as three bridges this is fairly typical of construction but maybe not of this challenge.”
Forbes agreed.
“Jim (Scoles) is our Senior Bridge Engineer and that’s what our primary focus is when working with MDT. Projects that have bridges in them.”
Built in the 1960s, these structures will be replaced with new materials that weren’t around on the original build. Forbes explained some of the positives.
“The steel that will be going into them is different. Lighter in weight but stronger. Much stronger. The concrete will be a touch stronger, more durable, but generally not a ton of difference.”
Bradon Coates with RCBI is the public involvement manager of this project and said this in-person open house at Alberton School, and the two virtual open houses were to give people a chance to ask questions and hear more about the process.
“We don’t have all of the answers yet because this is still in the design phase,” he said. “And we don’t have the exact costs until we know what we will be dealing with but that’s how construction projects develop. It can be confusing, especially when we have so much construction out here already.”
The construction plan is one project at a time for logistics, costs, resources and travel fatigue, meaning drivers won’t hit a new construction zone every few miles, at least not on this project. There will be crossovers, one-lane traffic in each direction, flagmen and reduced speed limits.
Bob Atkinson owns property in the Crystal Springs area.
“Oh, I’ve been working with these guys for a long time on this. They’re good people. I’m here for the cookies and talk about a temporary road they are thinking about,” he smiles.
That temporary road would be an offramp in the westbound lane so that travelers wouldn’t have to go to Tarkio and turn around to drive back to the east off ramp.
But what the drivers will notice immediately on the completed bridge decks is that they will be significantly wider.
“The new surface will have 12-foot travel lanes, a 10-foot shoulder and a 4- foot shoulder so they will match up with what the interstate is in overall width,” Coates explained. “You could, if you have to, pull over onto the shoulder of the bridge if you have car problems which is not at all an option now.”
For fishermen and floaters, when the pillar replacement part starts on the two larger projects, there is a good chance that part of the river will have delays. Just like flagmen on highways. But the MT DOT website will be updated www.mdt.mt.gov/travinfo/ and it’s advisable to check while planning your water activity.