A $2.95 million construction contract was awarded to L.H.C. Incorporated for the Highway 21 bridges project from Simms to Augusta.

Construction will begin this month, according to the Montana Department of Transportation.

The highway will be closed to all traffic at MP 9.2 Dry Creek and MP 19.8 Simms Creek for 35 days between July 5 and Aug. 22.

Advance signs will be placed to warn motorists of the detours and closures. Drivers will experience slower speeds on the detours and should allow additional travel time for driving alternate routes during the closure period, according to MDT.

The project includes 11 locations on Montana-21 between MP 19.8, west of Simms, and 0.1, east of Augusta, in Cascade and Lewis and  Clark Counties. These bridges and stockpasses were built in the 1930s and are too narrow to meet modern design standards, according to MDT.

“Three wooden bridges can be replaced with culverts and the recovery zone can be flattened to eliminate the need for guardrail. Guardrail will be upgraded on one concrete bridge and three wooden bridges that will be re-decked. Right-of-way acquisition and utility relocation will be required. The public can anticipate seeing construction starting in 2020,” according to MDT.

Due to recent flood events, the work type and schedules for the three bridges closest to Augusta are being re-evaluated, according to MDT.

This project is needed, according to MDT, to:

• address safety concerns based on bridge width and guardrail blunt ends. The scope is to rehabilitate, widen and overlay the decks and upgrade the guardrail or replace bridges with culverts.
• These stock passes and bridges are nearing the end of their useful life.
• The current bridges are only 21’ wide and the blunt end guardrail and lack of guardrail are safety problems.
• The removal of bridges and blunt end bridge rail and replacing with culverts and a wider finished surfacing, as well as slope flattening will enhance safety along this route. Widening the bridge deck and placing new guardrail will provide an increased level of safety for the traveling public.
• Rehabilitating the bridges to increase width or replacing with culverts is a cost-effective option that utilizes fewer resources than reconstruction. The existing wooden/paved decks will be replaced with corrugated steel decks and paved with plant mix.

Members of the public can join the project’s mailing list by submitting their contact information to Christie McOmber via email or by submitting a comment using the online comment form.

Armington Junction

MDT has proposed construction of a roundabout at the junction of U.S. 87/89 near Belt, commonly known as Armington Junction.

This proposed roundabout is part of the Belt North and South Phase 3 project. Because MDT’s top priority is the safety of all roadway users the intersection has been designed as a large-diameter, single-lane roundabout in order to provide significant reductions in crashes while providing considerations and space for large trucks and special vehicles commonly traveling the roadway.

 

The project is the third phase of the Belt North and South Project which extends from the bottom of Belt Hill to Armington Junction. Phases 1 and 2 have been constructed, with third phase construction awaiting final design of the roundabout intersection improvement.

Full cost of the Belt North and South Project which included bridge replacement, road construction, and the current roundabout in development is anticipated to be between $15 million to $20 million.

The total cost of the Armington Junction intersection will be about $3.1 million, according to MDT, with construction estimated to begin in 2021.