(yellowstonecountynews.com photo)

Construction crews from Utah-based Wadsworth Construction have recently begun the construction of the Yellowstone River Bridge as part of the Billings Bypass Project.

The bridge will consist of four new lanes and will have a 10-ft. wide pedestrian pathway. The cost of the project is approximately $47.4 million and will take two years to complete.

The project — executed in conjunction with the Montana Department of Transportation — is a multi-phase job that will result in a new arterial roadway that will begin at the Johnson Lane Interchange in Lockwood, Mont., span the Yellowstone River, and connect to the Highway 312/Highway 87 intersection in the Heights neighborhood of Billings. An additional segment will reconstruct Five Mile Road north of the new road and will connect 5 Mile Road to Highway 312.

The Yellowstone River Bridge is Phase 2 of the bypass project and work began this fall, starting with the construction of a temporary bridge that connects the work sites on either side of the river. The entire scope of the Billings Bypass Project consists of a six-phase, multi-road construction project that will take six years to complete and cost $115 million.

The new road will also feature a diverging diamond interchange, the first of its kind in Montana, according to MDT.

Crews started Phase 1 of the project last April, which included work on the intersection of Five Mile Road and Highway 132. Phase 3 will include the construction of the new Johnson Lane interchange, which is currently being designed. Work is scheduled to begin in 2022 and will be led by California-based Granite Construction/LHC.

Project Background

This project is led by the Montana Department in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Yellowstone County and the city of Billings. DOWL is the lead project engineer and public information coordinator and Morrison-Maierle is the lead bridge engineer. Kittelson and Associates along with Marvin and Associates are performing the traffic engineering and operational analyses.

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