Embattled ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ Finally Meets its End

Eight years after a conservation group filed a lawsuit arguing that a private “bridge to nowhere” connecting the scenic north shore of Flathead Lake to vacant Dockstader Island was constructed without a valid permit and should be demolished — an argument that was affirmed by the Montana Supreme Court — the permanent removal of the structure is finally underway.

“It took a lot of wrangling to get to this point, but now that we’re here it shouldn’t take very long to remove it,” according to Kalispell attorney Donald Murray, of Hash, O’Brien, Biby & Murray. “I was out there on Saturday and the work seemed to be going very smoothly, with minimal disturbance to the lakebed.”

The 481-foot-long vehicular bridge has been a running controversy since 2011, when the Flathead County Commissioners issued a permit for its construction without hearing public comment. The nonprofit Community Association for North Shore Conservation, Inc. (CANSC), with representation from Murray, brought the legal challenge to the permit, arguing that the commissioners did not adequately assess impacts to Flathead Lake’s scenic values, and that the Flathead County Planning and Zoning Office erroneously determined that a “vehicular bridge” was not a “road,” which would be prohibited by the Lakeshore Protection Zone.

Flathead County District Judge Robert B. Allison agreed, and in December 2020 ordered an expedited plan for the embattled bridge’s removal while expressing frustration over repeated delays. That order came more than a year after the Montana Supreme Court upheld his decision that the structure west of Bigfork was built without a valid permit and must be removed to restore the prized lakeshore to its original condition.

The district court’s frustration was due in part to requests by landowner Jolene Dugan, now deceased, and her father, Roger Sortino, who sought to delay the demolition due to financial strain, stalling forward progress on the costly project. In a stern rebuke, Allison denied the request for delay and ruled in favor of a motion by CANSC, which asked for a court-ordered deadline to speed its removal, as per the judgment.

“The execution of the judgment has become as problematic as the effort to establish that the construction permit was wrongfully issued and void,” Allison wrote. “Plaintiffs are understandably frustrated with the lack of progress by Dugan regarding execution of the judgment. The Court shares this frustration.”

Writing that “the time has come for the Court to take the reins from Dugan,” Allison instructed CANSC to hire its own engineer to act as a Special Master and “develop a reasonably expedient plan for removal of the bridge.”

Allison assigned the cost of removal to Sortino and Dugan, notwithstanding their financial straits. The demolition of the bridge was estimated to cost $300,000.

According to a recent performance bond agreement submitted to the Flathead County District Court by Beargrass Designs, LLC, a Whitefish construction firm tabbed to perform the demolition, the contract is for $214,225.

Dave Hadden, co-chair of CANSC, said he hopes the resolution of the case will restore the north shore of the lake in accordance with the law while also serving as a course correction for the land-planning process in Flathead County. Hadden also thanked Bob Brown, a former Republican lawmaker and Secretary of State, for enacting the Montana Lakeshore Protection Act, which along with the county’s lakeshore regulations, provides a “wise foundation” for lakeshore protection.

“It’s great that the bridge is finally coming down and we’re just so fortunate to have the Lakeshore Protection Act,” Hadden said. “Republican Bob Brown authored that legislation and he deserves kudos for having the foresight to protect our lakes.”