City wants to meet with county over Red Bridge

Questions about the future of the Red Bridge, now that county funding to fix it up is in jeopardy, prompted the Columbia Falls City Council to call for a meeting with the Flathead County Commissioners. The bridge has become an eyesore that attracts vandals, graffiti artists and late-night parties, some residents say.

City manager Susan Nicosia told the council Aug. 1 that the First Best Place community organization had asked for the city's help in getting the county to make a decision on the bridge. She recalled that the last time she visited the site, she could hear parts of the century-old bridge falling into the river when the wind blew.

"The Red Bridge has become an area of concern," she told the Hungry Horse News. "If the bridge cannot be repaired, due to the significant liability created by having a dilapidated bridge, then the bridge will have to be moved or torn down."

Nicosia told the council that supporters of an historic bridge over the Missouri River in Great Falls had argued that Cascade County would have to pay a certain amount of money to tear it down, so why not count that money towards fixing it up into a pedestrians-only bridge?

Mayor Don Barnhart agreed to join Nicosia in meeting with the commissioners. No exact time or date has been set.

Meanwhile, progress is being made on two trail projects in Columbia Falls - the Third Avenue East path from U.S. 2 to River's Edge Park and a striped-lane bike path on 13th Street near the high school.

Work on the Third Avenue path will start in mid-October and be mostly or completely finished before winter, depending on how October and November weather affects asphalt paving.

The engineering estimate by Robert Peccia & Associates for construction of the trail is $142,825, about $28,000 more than an earlier estimate due to higher costs for stormwater drainage infrastructure. With engineering and other costs added in, the total cost is $197,352.

According to a July 29 letter from RPA, the city should expect $170,867 in federal funding for the project despite Congressional delays in funding the Community Transportation Enhancement Program (CTEP). The city's match will be $26,485.

In addition to the 12 additional drain inlets to improve drainage, RPA recommends the city put stop signs for motor vehicles at three Third Avenue intersections - Bill's Lane, Seventh Street East and Ninth Street East. The consultant also calls for six stop signs on the path itself for bicycles.

Across town, city crews will work on widening 13th Street from 12th Avenue to the high school on Aug. 17-18 for a bike path marked by painted stripes from 12th Avenue all the way to Fourth Avenue. The roadway is already wide enough for the striped bike path from the high school east to Fourth Avenue.

The costs of paving west of the high school and paying a resident to move a sprinkler system in the city right-of-way has not been estimated, Nicosia said. The bike path likely will overlap the existing cat paws painted on the roadway.