HAMILTON, Mont. - The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) and L&J Construction Group are resuming work on the South of Missoula Bridge Preservation project.
This year, crews will complete crack sealing work on the Bitterroot River bridge located on Secondary Highway 531 (S 531) west of Hamilton. Following the crack seal, final epoxy paint markings will be applied and the project will conclude. Work is anticipated to take up to a week to complete, depending on the availability of painting materials.
In 2024, crews rehabilitated 37 of the project's 38 bridges, including bridges on U.S. Highway 93 (US 93), Bell Crossing West, Secondary Highway 269 (S 269), and Secondary Highway 203 (S 203). Each bridge received rehabilitation based on need, including repairing the bridge deck (driving surface) and joints, sealing cracks in the bridge deck, smoothing bridge approaches, and adding new pavement markings. Work on the S 531 bridge was postponed until the 2025 season due to weather.
"Our contractor L&J did a great job at making sure work on this project went smoothly and quickly," said Che Hassan, MDT Missoula District Engineering Project Manager. "The work planned for 2025 is a minor holdover and won't take long to complete, but it is important that we waited for warmer temperatures so the crack sealing materials can bind properly."
When construction resumes, motorists can expect single-lane traffic across the bridge controlled by temporary signals and reduced speed limits.
Upon completion this project will successfully extended the service life of 38 bridges originally constructed between 1949 and 2011. Bridge preservation projects such as this one are a cost-effective way to ensure that bridges continue to serve the public for many years to come.
For more information about this project, visit the project website: mdt.mt.gov/pubinvolve/southmissoula/. To sign up for email updates contact Tyler@rbci.net. If you would like to receive text message updates, text SMBP to 866-434-0866 (toll-free)*.
*Texting alerts are not managed by MDT and may have different privacy and security policies. For more information, visit simpletexting.com/privacy-policy/ [simpletexting.com].
For current traffic conditions and up-to-date information about projects across Montana, visit 511mt.net [511mt.net].
Questions or comments can be directed to Tyler Manning at Tyler@rbci.net or 406-333-7215.
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