The Montana Department of Transportation is planning to open, on July 3, the Bypass corridor across the Yellowstone River which will connect Johnson Lane in Lockwood to Five Mile Road in the Heights. “We aren’t opposed to opening it sooner,” said Mike Taylor, MDT’s District Administrator in Billings, but there are still aspects of construction of the overpass that must be completed and some are dependent on weather.
Opening of the segment has been a long time in coming, and “it’s a big deal for the county and the community and a major milestone for MDT,” said Taylor. Opening the Yellowstone River Bridge marks the completion of the third phase of the six-phase Billings Bypass project.
July 4 is the construction deadline for Wadsworth Brothers Construction, who is building the Railroad Overpass, which includes extending the road to the Yellowstone River Bridge.
Opening of the route is expected to allow north and south-bound truck traffic to avoid traveling into Billings and on Main Street in the Heights–the busiest street in the state. Taylor emphasized that they do not want traffic to use the residential route of Mary Street to Hwy. 87. Eventually a new portion of the Bypass will be built which will parallel Mary Street that will directly connect the bridge to Hwy. 87 in the Heights.
There will be no special fanfare in opening the bridge to traffic, said Taylor, although they do plan a media day for news outlets to have access to the project site prior to the opening.
Chip sealing of the road to the bridge, which is weather dependent and requires a 45-day curing period, must still be completed, said Taylor. Other necessary projects include … Read full story here.
