June 22, 2011
Missoula County Board of Commissioners
200 West Broadway
Missoula, Montana 59802
Re: A Petition to Deprioritize Replacement of Maclay Bridge
Commissioners Curtiss, Carey & Landquist
We will begin our story of Maclay Bridge when it was first constructed at its present location in 1922. It served the area well and in 1948 it was rehabilitated after flood damage which occurred again in 1964. At that time the short span on the east end was removed and replaced with pre-stressed concrete spans. In 2002, there were circumstances that perhaps justified listing the bridge as a priority for replacement due to the deteriorating wood deck. However, in 2003 a bridge report was prepared by Frank Muth and Associates, and by the end of 2004, the old wooden deck had been replaced and stringers added to increase the weight capacity to 14 tons. That entirely negated any structural need for replacement. That conclusion is supported by an October 13, 2010 Fracture Critical Inspection Report prepared by MDT, stating “No serious problems noted” and in conjunction, the February 9, 2010, MDT bridge inspection document gives the bridge a heath index rating of 96.39, the healthiest bridge in Missoula County.
That leaves the single lane configuration and approaches as the only reasonable justification for replacement. People who use the bridge daily, overwhelmingly support leaving the bridge as is, in the one lane configuration. You may argue that getting the largest rural fire tanker across the bridge is a safety consideration; however, if you review the Muth report, the Maclay Bridge can reasonably be upgraded to meet that concern, saving the federal, state, and county taxpayers millions of dollars.
Over the past 8 months, the Maclay Bridge Alliance has repeatedly asked for public hearings and meetings to air facts and concerns, both for and against replacement. As a commission, you have repeatedly declined public meetings, instead opting to issue press releases and televised sound bites, but you have shown no compelling need. Accordingly we have circulated an advisory petition that asks that the Maclay Bridge be taken off the priority list for replacement. We present to you more than 1100 signatures attached to that petition.
Submitted by,
The Maclay Bridge Alliance
CC: Governor Brian Schweitzer
MDT Director Jim Lynch
Sen. Dave Wanzenreid
Sen. Cliff Larsen
Sen. Tom Facie
