California Street Bridge, Missoula MT

What is it?

The California Street Bridge connects the two sides of the Clark Fork of the Columbia River as it flows through central Missoula. This project was built as part of a two-element project, the other being the Northside Bike/Ped Crossing. Funding (approx. $1.4 million) was through the Federal Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality Program with local match supplied by the Missoula Redevelopment Agency.

The photo above shows Missoula residents celebrating the grand opening in fall of '99. Currently, the bridge links with a section of trail and several streets on the north side of the river (closer to downtown) and to a residential street on the south side. As the trail network on both sides of the river expands, this bridge will become an even more important link for bicyclists and pedestrians who want to reach downtown, the university, and other destinations.

Designed by engineers from Carter-Burgess Inc. and architects from O'neil & Zimet (a Missoula firm), the cable-stay structure is a unique bridge in Montana and the Western US. It is 13-feet wide, has a circular widened area in the middle (for viewing), and is 408 feet long. The Contractor was Bodell Construction of Missoula.

The bridge replaces an old timber structure that had existed on the same site for decades. It had been originally built for motor traffic but had become a bike/ped link when it could no longer support motor vehicle loads. In the '80s it was torn down for safety reasons. A few years later, an adjacent property owner petitioned the County to vacate the right of way. However, local bicycle advocates argued successfully that doing so would make it impossible to ever build a bridge there again. While we had no idea where the funds would come from, saving the ROW assured the possibility of a future bridge. The County Commissioners who voted to save the crossing fifteen years ago probably had no idea their work that day would bear such colorful fruit in 1999. --- John Williams

For more information on the project, contact Geoff Badenoch of MRA.

photos courtesy of Tod Gass, Missoula Redevelopment Agency