LIBBY – Crews are starting replacement of the famous “swinging bridge” over the Kootenai River.
While the bridge remains open to visitors right now, there will come a point when the old span is shut down while the new bridge is moved into place.
The bridge is one of the most popular spots for visitors to Northwest Montana, where the swinging span crosses the lower end of the gorge below Kootenai Falls just upstream from Troy.
It doesn’t take long to cross the bridge, depending on how much your companions want to “bounce”.
Contractors from Wesslan Construction of Spokane started a project last week to completely replace the bridge, placing equipment and starting drilling for the new span.
Right now, the bridge remains open, although Kootenai National Forest says it could be closed from time-to-time for a couple of hours during helicopter operations.
