Governor Gianforte, MDT Cut Ribbon on Bigfork Bridge

BIGFORK, MT - Joining Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) Director Chris Dorrington, Governor Greg Gianforte today joined the Bigfork community to celebrate the long-awaited opening of the recently completed Bigfork bridge.

“For a long time, this bridge has been a priority for the Bigfork community because you all knew what it would mean for safety, for local businesses, and for the families who call this place home,” Gov. Gianforte said. “Today, I am proud to say we got it done. This new bridge is not just about getting from point A to point B, it’s about making Bigfork stronger.”

Joining representatives from the Bigfork Chamber of Commerce, the Community Foundation for a Better Bigfork, county commissioners, and local leaders, the governor helped cut the ribbon on the new single-lane, steel-truss bridge. Construction began on the bridge in December last year after MDT had closed the bridge in January 2024 due to safety concerns.

“Through awesome partnership with the Bigfork Community, Montana’s congressional delegation, consultants, utilities, and Battle Ridge Builders, MDT’s team safely accelerated the Bridge Street Bridge project’s completion, ahead of schedule and on budget,” Dir. Dorrington said.

The bridge first opened to the public in 1912, and over time, experienced corrosion and other issues due to its age. Its condition resulted in the bridge being load posted at a 3-ton weight limit for the last several years, which restricted larger vehicles from using the bridge. As time passed, the bridge’s condition continued to deteriorate, ultimately resulting in the closure of the bridge.

Montana-based contractor Battle Ridge Builders was awarded the project. Their crews worked day in and day out, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., working weekends, late nights, and early morning hours to expedite construction of the project.

After receiving feedback from the Bigfork community, MDT and Flathead County replaced the current structure with a bridge that maintains a similar iconic aesthetic and features a matching steel truss shape and single travel lane. The new bridge is approximately the same length as the current 120-foot structure, and the location of the bridge did not change.

Investing in infrastructure improvements has been a top priority for the Gianforte administration. In his more recent budget, the governor allocated an additional $10 million a year toward bridge repairs.

In the last legislative session, Gov. Gianforte signed into law the SAFER Act, as it was introduced in his budget, to leverage up to nine federal dollars for every one state dollar and invests $100 million to repair Montana’s roads and bridges.