A temporary bridge over Montana Creek is open for pedestrian use following a more than 10-month closure after the previous pedestrian bridge suffered substructure damage from weather events last September.
According to Sam Dapcevich, spokesperson for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, the temporary bridge was in storage in Juneau prior to the damage of the previous bridge. The temporary bridge is owned by DOT&PF to be used in case of emergency situations, but will be used temporarily in this instance.
“When we released the previous bridge would have to be pulled out because it was damaged — this idea came up,” he said. “We ended up ordering a few extension pieces for it, so that took a bit of time, but now it’s all complete and we’re happy it can be of use again.”
In addition, the Montana Creek Road beyond the Hank Harmon Public Range is now open to vehicles from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Dapcevich said the temporary bridge will remain in place until funding can be secured for a permanent replacement. He said there is no DOT&PF funding identified for the project at this time.
“This bridge is probably more robust than a permanent bridge would be,” he said. “It can be used for emergencies — that’s what we had it for — and if there was an emergency where we needed it we would potentially pull it back out and use it somewhere else.”
The bridge is owned by the DOT&PF, and managed by the City and Borough of Juneau. City Manager Rorie Watt said the city isn’t working on finding city funding to go toward replacing the bridge permanently at this time.
• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807.
