Steel bridge receives designation

Bigfork’s iconic steel bridge is now officially historic.

The one-lane steel bridge that crosses the Swan River where it joins Bigfork Bay was officially added to the National Historic Register earlier this month.

A.Y. Bayne & Company of Minneapolis built the Swan River Bridge in the early 1900s. The existing steel structure replaced a 10-year old wooden bridge that had been condemned by the county.

Flathead County awarded the bridge construction to the A.Y. Bayne & Company in June of 1911 and work began five months later. The bridge was completed in spring of 1912.

The pin-connected “Pratt through truss” bridge is a style of bridge that appeared all over Montana in the early 1900s as the state’s population began to grow, and was very common before 1915.

Jon Axline, who specializes in historic bridges, says there are only about 15 of those bridges left in the state.

The application for historical designation prepared by Axline also speculates that the bridge was likely the last of its kind built in Montana by the A.Y. Bayne & Company, which was very active in Montana between 1906 and 1911.

Despite its age, the bridge has only been modified slightly over the years, with the sidewalk added later, and the guardrails replaced. The county paid $4,400 for the original bridge.

The decision to get the bridge listed on the historical register was spurred, in part, by the knowledge that Flathead County was seeking funds to completely replace the structure. Though recognition as a historic landmark technically does nothing to prevent the bridge from being replaced, Axline and members of the Community Foundation for a Better Bigfork hope it will encourage the county to look at options other than replacement, to improve the safety of the structure.

Last summer Flathead County applied for state funding to replace the bridge, which has a weight limit of three-tons and because of its age, is wearing out.

Currently there are no immediate plans to replace the structure.

Signage denoting the historical designation will be placed by the bridge after the completion of the final phase of Bigfork’s upcoming stormwater project.