Rating:
3 votes

Kalispell Old Steel Bridge

Flathead County, Montana

Photos 

Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record

View photos at Library of Congress

BH Photo #117849

Map 

Facts 

Overview
Lost through truss bridge over Flathead River on CR 091 (Holt Stage Road)
Location
Flathead County, Montana
Status
Replaced by a new bridge
History
Built 1894; replaced 2009
Builder
- Gillette-Herzog Manufacturing Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota
Design
One 11-panel Pratt through truss (220 ft.)
Two 7-panel Pratt through trusses (each 144 ft.)
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 220.2 ft.
Total length: 505.9 ft.
Deck width: 15.4 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 15.5 ft.
Also called
Holt Stage Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+48.21061, -114.25727   (decimal degrees)
48°12'38" N, 114°15'26" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
11/703752/5343346 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Kalispell
Average daily traffic (as of 2009)
100
Inventory number
BH 23024 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of October 2018)
Overall condition: Fair
Superstructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 99 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

11-panel truss (67)
19th Century (8,316)
Built 1894 (255)
Built during 1890s (3,186)
Flathead County, Montana (31)
Formerly NR-eligible (448)
Gillette-Herzog Manufacturing Co. (17)
HAER documented (1,122)
Lally columns (345)
Lost (28,381)
Lost 2009 (357)
Lost during 2000s (4,403)
 Montana (843)
One-lane traffic (7,830)
Owned by county (21,599)
Pin-connected (4,674)
Pratt through truss (6,042)
Pratt truss (10,276)
Replaced by new bridge (19,300)
Span length 175-250 feet (2,058)
Through truss (16,707)
Total length 500-1000 feet (3,051)
Truss (35,373)
Wooden deck (6,160)

Update Log 

  • February 15, 2020: New photo from Geoff Hubbs
  • February 14, 2012: Updated by Luke Harden: Corrected builder
  • November 23, 2011: Updated by James Baughn: It appears this bridge was replaced
  • July 22, 2008: New photos from James Baughn

Sources 

  • HAER MT-21 - Old Steel Bridge, Spanning Flathead River on Steel Bridge Road, Kalispell vicinity, Flathead County, MT
  • Luke
  • Geoff Hubbs
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Comments 

Kalispell Old Steel Bridge
Posted April 24, 2014, by ArtS (asuckewer [at] knite [dot] com)

Here is a news piece about the bridge's repurposing - its better than being scrapped. If anyone needs parts for a restoration, especially tension members, they may want to contact the artist before he repurposes them:

http://www.kpax.com/news/artist-shares-vision-for-old-steel-...

Kalispell Old Steel Bridge
Posted April 11, 2014, by ArtS (asuckewer [at] knite [dot] com)

Well, apparently at least one span still exists, but not for long:

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/members/iron-works-local-artis...

Kalispell Old Steel Bridge
Posted November 24, 2011, by Tony Dillon (spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com)

Unfortunate loss of what may have been the longest remaining Pratt through truss.

Kalispell Old Steel Bridge
Posted December 23, 2010, by Anthony Dillon (spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com)

The main span of this bridge is quite massive with it's 20 foot panels. Comparing it with the regular sized Pratt spans it almost looks like a through truss with 2 pony approaches.