Rating:
2 votes

MRL - Bitterroot River Bridge #3

Ravalli County, Montana

Photos 

The top of the bridge, looking south.

Photo taken by Matthew Harris in August 2010

Enlarge

BH Photo #172508

Map 

Street Views 

Description 

This bridge carries Montana Rail Link traffic on the route from Missoula to the southern Bitterroot Valley. The Montana Rail Link line through the Bitterroot Valley is still functional, but trains use it very rarely: I can only think of one or two that I have seen in the last year. So this bridge does not get much traffic. Bridge constructed of secondhand materials relocated from an unknown location. Information from NPRHA.org Online Collection

Facts 

Overview
Pony truss bridge over Bitterroot River on Montana Rail Link
Location
Ravalli County, Montana
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1950 using secondhand spans
Railroads
- Montana Rail Link (MRL)
- Northern Pacific Railway (NP)
Design
1-120' "Through Lattice Girder" (Warren Pony Truss)
1-50' Through Plate Girder
2-50' Deck Plate Girder
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 120.0 ft.
Total length: 311.0 ft.
Also called
NP Bridge #51
Approximate latitude, longitude
+46.19827, -114.16804   (decimal degrees)
46°11'54" N, 114°10'05" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
11/718496/5119975 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Hamilton South
Elevation
3600 ft. above sea level
Inventory number
BH 45858 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Built 1950 (612)
Built during 1950s (4,073)
Deck girder (6,595)
Girder (11,636)
Have street view (30,397)
Lattice Through/Plate Girder (14)
Montana (852)
Montana Rail Link (47)
Northern Pacific Railway (458)
Open (41,421)
Owned by railroad (14,123)
Plate girder (9,149)
 Pony truss (17,548)
Railroad (16,990)
Ravalli County, Montana (13)
Relocated (1,090)
Riveted (2,776)
Span length 100-125 feet (4,680)
Through girder (4,376)
Total length 250-500 feet (5,719)
Truss (38,306)
Vertical Endposts (93)
Warren pony truss (3,629)
Warren truss (7,181)

Update Log 

  • February 8, 2020: Updated by John Marvig: Added information from NP bridge records
  • March 22, 2018: Updated by John Marvig: Added Build Date from NP Bridge Book
  • January 31, 2018: New Street View added by Dana and Kay Klein
  • March 26, 2012: Updated by Daniel Hopkins: Added category "Railroad"
  • March 25, 2012: New Street View added by Craig Philpott
  • August 11, 2010: Added by Matthew Harris

Sources 

Comments 

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