Bridge work will limit access to Heron

Out with the old, in with the new, as the saying goes. With the completion of the new Heron bridge across the Clark Fork River, the next task for the Dick Anderson Construction crew is to take out the old bridge. Taking out the old bridge is a big task, one that includes closing both bridges to traffic.

The new bridge will be closed weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. starting Monday, March 12. Dick Anderson Construction will take two large cranes to the center of the new bridge and hook onto a piece of the old bridge, according to Project Superintendent Jeff Ingram. The bridge pieces will be lifted out and put on semis, then hauled away to be cut into smaller pieces and recycled.

The bridge closures will continue weekdays for 12 days, Ingram said, with the main steel structure removed by March 27. From there, he said it will take at least a month to remove the concrete from the old bridge. The new bridge will not have to be closed for that portion of the project, Ingram said.

Sanders County Commissioner Tony Cox said he knows the bridge closure work will be an inconvenience for residents, but the county has been planning with emergency services in Montana and Idaho, the post office and schools to work around the construction. Cox said the bridge will be closed after the school bus has crossed in the morning, and once the bus comes back in the afternoon.

"We know it's an inconvenience," Cox said, "but we hope people will plan accordingly.

Dick Anderson Construction has a crew of 12 people on the project. "The project has been vey successful," Ingram said, noting that the only issue they faced was with drilling a rock early in the project.

Ingram said that his crew should be gone by the end of April. From there, work to the bridge approach will commence, including chip sealing and striping. Cox said the entire project should be done by July.