Rating:
2 votes

Old River Bridge

Flathead County, Montana

Photos 

View From South River Bank Looking Northeast

Photo taken for the Historic American Engineering Record

View photos at Library of Congress

BH Photo #305720

Map 

Street View 

Description 

The Belton Bridge was the western entrance to Glacier National Park from 1920 to 1938, and was one of the park's first major construction projects. Between 1933 and 1938, the bridge was also a vital link on Going-to-the-Sun Road, a 51-mile stretch of scenic road across the park. The road is significant as a unique engineering accomplishment of the early twentieth century, and as the first product of a 1925 cooperative agreement between the National Park Service and the Bureau of Public Roads. The Belton Bridge is one of approximately seventeen prominent masonry and concrete structures along Going-to-the-Sun Road.

-- Historic American Engineering Record

Facts 

Overview
Open-spandrel arch bridge over Middle Fork Flathead River on Old River Bridge Road
Location
Glacier National Park, Flathead County, Montana
Status
Open to traffic
Builders
- Charles A. McClung of Spokane, Washington (Contractor)
- George E. Goodwin (Engineer)
Design
Open-spandrel concrete arch
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 150.0 ft.
Total length: 209.0 ft.
Deck width: 16.0 ft.
Also called
Belton Bridge (Original Name)
Belton Bridge (Original Name)
Approximate latitude, longitude
+48.49971, -113.96989   (decimal degrees)
48°29'59" N, 113°58'12" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
12/280619/5376103 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
West Glacier
Elevation
3201 ft. above sea level
Inventory number
BH 51886 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Arch (12,059)
Charles A. McClung (2)
Deck arch (11,297)
Flathead County, Montana (30)
George E. Goodwin (1)
Glacier National Park, Montana (5)
Going-to-the-Sun Road (4)
HAER documented (1,106)
 Have street view (26,819)
Montana (799)
Open (39,798)
Open-spandrel arch (755)
Owned by county (20,731)
Span length 125-175 feet (4,209)
Total length 175-250 feet (4,250)
West Glacier, Montana (1)

Update Log 

  • March 31, 2018: New photos from David Jones
  • October 23, 2014: HAER photo posted by Ian Martin
  • October 23, 2014: New Street View added by Luke
  • March 26, 2012: Added by Craig Philpott

Sources 

  • Craig Philpott - craigphilpott63 [at] gmail [dot] com
  • Panorama
  • Luke
  • HAER MT-68 - Belton Bridge, Spanning middle fork of Flathead River at Going-to-the-Sun Road, West Glacier, Flathead County, MT
  • David Jones - david2jpix [at] yahoo [dot] com

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