Some bridges are vital connectors for communities, while others connect to recreation opportunities.
Missoula County manages 122 bridges with support from the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT).
Watch to learn more about the status of bridges in Missoula County:
Aging or worn down bridges, however, need repairs or full replacements, including Sunset Hill Bridge in Greenough, which was closed indefinitely earlier this week.
“These bridges continue to age. We don't have the money to maintain them," Missoula County Engineer Erik Dickson told MTN.
MDT closed the Sunset Hill Bridge to all traffic on September 8, 2025, due to structural concerns.
“One element of a truss starts to deform, that means excessive stresses are going to other parts, and that's just not a safe situation," Dickson said.
Spanning across the Blackfoot River, the single lane bridge was constructed in 1907.
“We expect 50 to 75 years on a bridge," Dickson noted.
Replacing the Sunset Hill Bridge would cost around $4.1 million.
“On an average year, the Missoula County Bridge Fund has about $50,000 available for construction," Dickson explained. “Locally, the property tax is not enough to fund major projects," he continued.
Over in Seeley Lake, Boy Scout Bridge was closed permanently in 2023, after MDT found concerns within the structure, which was put up in 1937.
"It's replacement estimate is about $14 million right now," Dickson said.
Missoula County applied for grants through the Federal Highway Administration for both the Sunset Hill and Boy Scout bridges, but wasn’t awarded them.
“It's just not financially feasible for the county to fund that replacement locally," Dickson stated.
MDT and Missoula County are proposing to construct a new two-lane bridge over the Bitterroot River. In the meantime, they need Missoula’s existing Maclay Bridge to safely handle traffic.
“We replaced a number of stringers, replaced a lot of the corrugated steel decking that holds the asphalt surface, so it was a necessary step to keep this open for the next five, six, seven years, however long it may take to get the South Avenue bridge completed," Dickson detailed.
County staff are continuing to look for federal and state financial support to help replace these bridges.
"The Lolo Street Bridge in the Rattlesnake received federal funding. We just received a $500,000 grant from the state to replace a bridge up in Condon, but that $500,000 is going towards a $2.5 million replacement," Dickson explained.
