Work on Moyie bridge nears end

By GWEN ALBERS

Hagadone News Network

MOYIE SPRINGS — Since early July, Beth Holmes' daily commute to Bonners Ferry has taken an additional 40 minutes.The office manager for Thompson Chiropractic, Holmes lives 1/2 mile north of a Meadow Creek Road bridge that's been closed for replacement. A detour has turned her roundtrip commute into an extra 26 miles.

Relief is in sight. Concrete for the new $2.5 million bridge 14 miles north of Highway 2 was poured last week. The bridge should open around Thanksgiving or before, said Jeff Gutshall, county superintendent of roads and bridges."The deck is curing and needs two weeks to cure," Gutshall said. "It could be open as close as 10 days."That's good news for Holmes."I like to be home instead of on the road," she said.

Boundary County officials agreed to replace the 80-year-old bridge because it was functionally obsolete, Gutshall said.Built in 1926, the single-lane bridge had been damaged several times, and had decaying timbers. At one time, the bridge had a 5-ton weight limit."The county had it inspected by a consulting engineer," Gutshall said. "Bridges are rated from 0 to 100. Once they're below 50, they're eligible for federal funding. It was way down there — 38 or 39."Since the bridge lies in Panhandle National Forest, the project qualified for additional federal aid. As a result, Boundary County had to contribute $50,000 to the $2.5 million project, Gutshall said.

The new two-lane steel bridge built by C.E. Kramer Construction of Naples will be named the Don Olson Memorial Bridge. The late Don Olson was involved with designing several federal highways projects, while working from Vancouver, Wash. Olson was involved with the design of the Highway 2 Moyie Springs bridge.