The route in and out of Jefferson City has looked quite different for the last three months, and although much progress has taken place, residents have only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of construction coming to North County this summer.
The Montana Department of Transportation plans to rehabilitate 12 bridges on the portion of Interstate 15 that runs through Jefferson County, all of them on the north end. The total project costs $11.6 million, according to MDT’s Butte District Construction Engineer Dave Cunningham.
“The bridges are aging and in need of repairs and routine upkeep,” reads the MDT project website. “They are currently safe to drive on, but it is essential to implement the repairs needed to keep them functional and enhance safety features.”
MDT’s contract with Frontier West Inc., a Missoula based bridge contracting company, Partnering with Frontier West Inc., requires that the project wrap-up no later than Oct. 8, 2024, said Cunningham.
“MDT anticipates meeting that deadline,” Cunningham told The Monitor.
As of June 26, work to pave lanes in the medians – which will divert all traffic down either the north or southbound lanes while the bridges are rehabilitated — was underway. The two-lane traffic diversion will last through the summer; however, traffic will return to its normal routes through the winter and be once again diverted in the spring of 2024.
“For the rest of the summer, I-15 will be restricted to one lane in each direction with a reduced speed limit of 55 mph through the project area,” according to MDT’s website.
The Jefferson City bridge will receive the most extensive work of all the bridges, a worker on-site told The Monitor. Completion of the bridge may take up to six months, according to the MDT project slides.
Work on the Jefferson City bridge began in early April, with work taking place one lane at a time to allow traffic to cross the structure. Within a week, workers started cutting through the concrete deck with saws and jackhammers.
By the end of May, the first half of the new bridge deck was poured, barrier rails were installed and construction of interstate crossovers in Clancy and Montana City began.
Demolition of the second lane of the Jefferson City bridge is underway, and workers have begun paving the interstate crossovers.
Bridge 926, which takes traffic from South Hills Road to Highway 282, will undergo similar impacts to traffic and time frames starting in the spring of 2024.
North Jefferson County’s bridges have been worked on multiple times, Cunningham said, adding that preservation efforts began in 1983. The most recent work on the bridges was conducted in 2004.
Throughout the duration of the rehabilitation project, drivers will experience delays, flaggers and signals controlling the movement of traffic, single-lane restrictions, reduced speed limits and Interstate crossovers.
Drivers are reminded to watch for the “cone zone” and workers on the highway.
“MDT and Frontier West will maintain traffic flow but rely on you to keep roadway crews safe,” reads the project overview. “These workers spend their days working a short distance from fast-moving vehicles, and while they make every effort to work safely, they count on you to pay attention, slow down and be careful as you pass through a work zone.”
