County fixes Bigfork's old steel bridge

The Flathead County Road and Bridge Department put up extra railing bars and covered holes in downtown Bigfork’s old steel bridge on Bridge Street during the first week of November.

It was something that has needed to be done for as long as Bigfork resident and Western States Insurance associate John Howard can remember.

“The bridge has been the way it is forever,” Howard said. “It became an issue in my mind when I started having kids and walking over the bridge during the summertime.”

Howard said the bridge seems more dangerous when Bigfork is busy because of the sheer number of people and cars that cross the bridge.

The wooden walking path along the eastern side of the bridge had holes along the side where the steel beams came through between the path and the road. It also has a large gap between the rails that look over the river.

“There wasn’t much to stop someone from falling,” Howard said.

Howard felt so strongly about the danger of the bridge that he brought it to the county’s attention about two months ago. He said they responded quickly to his request and got the work done.

Foreman of the road and bridge department crew, Greg Iverson, said the county put a couple extra handrails along the bottom of the walk path rail to reduce the space where someone might fall through, replaced some planks and put metal coverings over the spots where the steel beams came through.

“Now if we can just keep those kids from climbing up there and jumping off the top we’d have it made,” Iverson said.

From a safety standpoint, Iverson said he is more worried about people jumping into the Swan River or falling while they climb to the top of the bridge.

Built out of steel in 1911 to replace a wooden bridge that was built in 1901, the bridge over the Swan River is a large part of Bigfork’s history. It is stop number seven and eight on downtown Bigfork’s Walk Through History that begins with the building Showthyme is currently in.

Iverson said the bridge is nearing that point in its life where it will need to be replaced. Over the last few years the county has taken measures to extend the bridge’s lifetime by issuing weight restrictions and making it so only one car can be on the bridge at a time.

He’s not sure when the county will make that decision and as he’s retiring next year, Iverson said his predecessor will be the one to make that decision.