Bigfork Bridge on Track to Open End of June
The single-lane steel-truss bridge connecting downtown Bigfork to Montana Highway 35 is slated for completion on June 30, forcing minor adjustments to the Bigfork Whitewater Festival over Memorial Day weekend
By Zoë Buhrmaster
Bigfork’s Bridge Street Bridge is on track for completion by June 30, its planned finish date, if not before.
Construction began on the new single-lane, steel-truss bridge in December last year with crews working Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The lighter winter weather since then has allowed workers to plug along without complications, “maybe even a little bit ahead of schedule,” said Sloane Stinson, a Big Sky Public Relations consultant managing communications on the project.
A crew from Montana-based contractor Battle Ridge Builders assembled the truss on site last week, Stinson said, signaling a milestone in the surveyed by a collection of curious citizens.
Organizers for Bigfork’s Whitewater Festival, taking place Memorial Day weekend May 23 to May 25 on the Swan River running beneath the bridge, have been collaborating with Battle Ridge Builders so the festival sails smoothly.
To ensure this, Battle Ridge has requested that paddlers park and exit the river at the Bigfork Fishing Access on Bigfork Bay, which is accessible via Bay Drive, and avoid parking or walking through the bridge construction zone, according to a post yesterday on the festival’s Facebook page.
Paddling under the bridge will still be permitted, with a warning to proceed with additional caution.
Flathead County and the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) identified the bridge as a structure in need of repair or replacement in a 2017 feasibility study, revealing that, due to time, corrosion and damage, the bridge was no longer capable of carrying heavier vehicles. However, during a routine inspection in January 2024, the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) closed the steel-truss bridge, which was built in 1912, to pedestrian and vehicle traffic due to structural concerns, with engineers questioning its inability to reliably carry traffic.
Although MDT originally arranged for the construction upgrades to begin in 2026, the project gained urgency following last year’s inspection report and the bridge’s subsequent closure, prompting the agency to streamline the construction date.
The steel link between downtown Bigfork and Montana Highway 35 is designed to match the bridge’s historic aesthetic, with the addition of an ADA-compliant sidewalk and capacity to handle large emergency vehicles.
Stinson said there are plans in motion to host a ribbon-cutting celebration for the bridge’s opening, with an official date to be set as they near completion.
Until then, pedestrians and drivers looking to access downtown must use Grand Avenue.
Those with a desire to stay tuned on the construction can watch the process through MDT’s construction webcam.