Conveniences Sorely Needed Montana's Historic Highway Bridges, 1860-1956

by Axline, Jon

• ISBN13: 9780972152266
• ISBN10: 0972152261
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-12-01
• Publisher: Montana Historical Society Press

Summary

Old bridges do more than just span rivers. They provide important connections between the people who built them and those who came after. Many of these historic structures reflect the promotional spirit that fueled Montana's growth. For the state's earliest communities, a good bridge could mean the difference between prosperity and oblivion.

Author Biography

Jon Axline is the historian at the Montana Department of Transportation. A frequent contributor to Montana The Magazine of Western History, Axline's publications include his contributions to the Helena history series More From the Quarries of Last Chance Gulch and Speaking Ill of the Dead: Jerks in Montana History. He lives in Helena, Montana, with his wife Lisa and daughters Kate and Kira.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	ix
Acknowledgements	xiii
Introduction: The Albatrosses	3	(8)
Legalized Highway Robbery? Toll Bridges and Getting From Here to There on the Montana Frontier	11	(18)
The Golden Age of Bridge Building in Montana	29	(30)
A Radical Departure in Bridge Building: The Montana Highway Department	59	(24)
A Spectacular and Visible Form of Engineering: Bridges of the Great Depression	83	(28)
From World War II to the Interstates: Bridges Change Montana's Transportation Landscape	111	(22)
Conclusion: Saving Montana's Historic Bridges	133	(6)
Notes	139	(14)
Glossary	153	(4)
Bibliography	157	(8)
Index	165

Excerpts

Bridges could either unite a community or divide it, as in the case of the original Flathead River bridge at Polson. Few disputed the need for a bridge to provide a direct connection from the town to the ranch and farmland on the west side of the river. The problem was deciding which Polson street would have direct access to the bridge. Although the city commission supported an approach through Riverside Park at C Street, businessmen on B Street wanted the approach off their street. Meanwhile, as debate intensified, ranchers on the river's west side were busy building their approach even as the contractor was finishing construction of the 1,842-foot bridge in August 1910.

A week after a raucous city council meeting, the B Street supporters filed an injunction to stop C street construction. Although the injunction claimed that approach would "deprive the plaintiff of the use and enjoyment of the reserve," it was intended to give B Streeters time to develop their own plans. The next day, two men employed by B Street businessmen began to grade an approach through the park. When the men ignored an order from the mayor to stop, he arrested them. After four more arrests, the mayor officially closed B Street and the contractor barricaded the bridge, which aroused the ire of the ranchers who ignored the barricade and began using the bridge anyway.

Finally, on August 17, the various parties compromised on a solution--there would be approaches from each street. Tongue planted firmly in cheek, the newspaper reported that things were settling down, "the arrested men turned loose, the lawyers have gone fishing, the Mayor is rusticating in the hills, the Sheriff and Commissioners have come and gone, the bridge is completed and will soon have two approaches, and everybody loves his neighbor no matter which street he lives."

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Excerpted from Conveniences Sorely Needed: Montana's Historic Highway Bridges, 1860-1956 by Jon Axline
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.