BUTTE -When you’re driving up Centennial Avenue in Butte, and you encounter these roadblock signs, you might be wondering why. Well, here’s why: There’s no bridge. This is one of three bridge repair projects going on in the Butte area.
“So, basically we’re looking at the most economical way to extend the service life on all these bridges,” MDT Project Coordinator Dave Cunningham said.
The Department of Transport is doing a complete reconstruction of the Centennial bridge’s super structure. The bridge on Burlington Avenue, which crosses the interstate, was recently shut down to install a new bridge deck.
WATCH: Bridge construction projects underway in Butte and Southwest Montana
“And then in June, the Shields will be closed, but that one, since it’s not as much work on that one, will only be closed a couple of weeks,” Cunningham said.
The non-profit group TRIP released a report recently showing that a lack of transportation funding could make it difficult for Montana to improve its roadways and bridges.
“And that aging infrastructure really comes to light in this report, when we’re looking at nearly 40 percent of our bridges being built in 1969 or earlier, so we’ve really got some aging infrastructure,” Montana Infrastructure Coalition Executive Allison Corbyn said.
The transportation department is working on more than a dozen bridge repairs in the region this summer.
“So, we’ve got multiple bridge projects going on in the Butte District all the way from Lima, up to Butte, all the way over through Livingston on our interstate projects,” Cunningham said.
