Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • FA L L 2 0 1 7 58 Bridges have been important to Montana since the earliest days of the gold rushes in the 1860s. In those days, they were built of whatever materials were close at hand. e arrival of the railroads in the 1880s allowed the introduction of steel. Steel provided a sturdier material that could carry heavier loads than the older timber bridges. e first, and oldest, steel bridge in Montana crosses the Missouri River at Fort Benton. Other steel bridges followed, all built by the counties to provide access to trade centers and the railroads. e counties tailored each bridge to a specific site, which resulted in many different types of steel bridges. While steel was the material of choice for the counties, a few experimented with the use of concrete for bridges. e DEARBORN RIVER HIGH BRIDGE is the only remaining pin-connected, half-deck truss in the United States. Pin-connections were standard to bridges built before automobiles became common to the state's roadways. A rare design when built in 1897, the narrow Dearborn River High Bridge crosses the river over a gravel road about 18 miles south of Augusta on Secondary Highway 435. e bridge spans a deep gorge nearly 100 feet above the Dearborn River near the front range of the Rockies. e Montana Department of Transportation rebuilt the bridge's crumbling foundation, repaired the trusses, replaced the deck, and repainted the structure in its original color. Today, the Dearborn River Bridge stands as a symbol of nineteenth and twenty-first century innovations. O LD BRIDGES ARE UBIQUITOUS IN THE MONTANA LANDSCAPE AND ARE OFTEN TAKEN FOR GRANTED BY MOTORISTS. Montana currently has a little over five thousand bridges on its Interstates and primary, secondary, and county roadways. A little over a third of those are more than 50 years of age, officially classifying them as "historic" bridges. Many of these were intended for horse-drawn traffic. ey also exemplify a visual evolution of technology from the dawn of the automobile age to the Interstate Highway era. Forty-five Montana bridges are listed in the National Register of Historic Places in Montana, representing a wide variety of building methods, materials, and styles. All are easily accessible, generally photogenic, open to traffic, and make for ideal day trips. NOT-TO-BE-MISSED DAY TRIPS TO FIVE MONTANA BRIDGES Dearborn River High Bridge by JON AXLINE

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