Rating:
2 votes

Blackfoot River Bridge

Missoula County, Montana

Photos 

Blackfoot River Bridge - Sunset Hill Road

Northwest Portal

Photo taken by David Jones in September 2016

Enlarge

BH Photo #365475

Map 

View Uglybridges.com report

Facts 

Overview
Through truss bridge over Blackfoot River on CR L1730
Location
Missoula County, Montana
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1907
Design
Pin-connected, 8-panel Pratt through truss
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 149.9 ft.
Total length: 215.9 ft.
Deck width: 13.5 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 17.3 ft.
Approximate latitude, longitude
+46.96477, -113.37788   (decimal degrees)
46°57'53" N, 113°22'40" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
12/319104/5203993 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Greenough
Inventory number
BH 23106 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 09/2015)
Deck condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Appraisal: Structurally deficient
Sufficiency rating: 17.7 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 2003)
238

Categories 

8-panel truss (350)
Built 1907 (593)
Built during 1900s (6,285)
Missoula County, Montana (46)
Montana (751)
One-lane traffic (7,424)
Open (36,587)
Owned by county (18,857)
 Pin-connected (3,221)
Pratt through truss (4,600)
Pratt truss (8,020)
Span length 125-175 feet (3,771)
Structurally deficient (18,433)
Through truss (12,899)
Total length 175-250 feet (3,768)
Truss (29,448)

Update Log 

  • May 31, 2017: Updated by Christopher Finigan: Added category "Pin-connected"
  • September 20, 2016: New photos from David Jones
  • March 25, 2012: Updated by Craig Philpott: Corrected location

Sources 

  • Craig Philpott - craigphilpott63 [at] gmail [dot] com
  • David Jones - david2jpix [at] yahoo [dot] com
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Comments 

Blackfoot River Bridge
Posted June 22, 2014, by Jim Benton (jcbenton [at] blackfoot [dot] net)

I dropped the ball with communicating about the blackfoot river bridge. I believe it may just be forgotten about. I don't know any specifics about it other than it was somehow made in Missoula Montana in 1907 and I would bet there aren't any others from that period still around. Just hate to see it get to the point where it has to be torn down. It is currently still in use.

Blackfoot River Bridge
Posted June 14, 2011, by Tony Dillon (spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com)

Jim, I would start with contacting local and state preservation groups to try and drum up support. If the bridge was truly a local product, then it would be worthwhile to get some records about it's construction if they are available. And getting support from the local residents is helpful as well.

Is the bridge in imminent danger, or are you just wanting to garner support in an attempt to keep that from happening?

Blackfoot River Bridge
Posted June 14, 2011, by Jim Benton (JAMES [dot] BENTON [at] MED [dot] GE [dot] COM)

how do you find out how to get a bridge restored rather than torn down? who to contact.This bridge is a possible candidate as it is one of the few left that was made in Missoula Montana.