"We're quite a ways out from initiating the planning process for Maclay Bridge, but I wanted to piece together a time line for residents interested in the process,” said public works director Greg Robertson.
“We know people in that area of the County have questions about the future of Maclay Bridge,” said Missoula County Commissioners chair Jean Curtiss. “Any discussion at Missoula County about the bridge generates a lot of interest, and we wanted to centralize that information and let folks know that the planning process hasn’t started yet. When it does, there will be plenty of opportunities for public involvement. We know how important this bridge is and we want to assure area residents that they’ll be involved in the discussions about it.”
In August, Missoula County plans to start the hunt for a consultant to carry out the feasibility study. This will begin in October for completino in October 2013. The study will examine all elements of the current structure and determine the most appropriate course of action for Missoula County and the Montana Department of Transportation. Project development will begin in October 2013, including preliminary and final design. Construction is envisaged to begin in October 2018 for completion in October 2020.Maclay Bridge is considered functionally obsolete and fracture critical according to a 2011 Montana Department of Transportation bridge inventory. Two trusses on the main span are the fracture critical design element. If one of the trusses should fail, the remaining truss cannot support the load or the shape of the entire structure and it would collapse. In addition to the design deficiencies, scour is also an issue. The bridge’s piers are located in the river channel on unknown materials. The east approach to the original bridge was washed out by flooding in 1963, and since then the channel has been altered with the deposition of material upstream of the bridge.
No decision has yet been taken on whether to retain the existing structure, for instance for use by pedestrians.
