![Work on New Missoula Bridge Begins Soon, Slower Traffic Expected](http://townsquare.media/site/119/files/2018/03/Russell-Street.jpg?w=630&h=472&zc=1&s=0&a=t&q=89&w=980&q=75)
Work on New Missoula Bridge Begins Soon, Slower Traffic Expected
One of Missoula’s major thoroughfares is getting a revamp that will take two years and $27 million to complete. Montana Department of Transportation Missoula District Construction Operations Engineer Donny Pfeiffer Explains.
“Russell Street is a complete reconstruct from Broadway to Idaho, which includes a brand new bridge and completely new roadway with bike lanes and sidewalks and an under-crossing trail at Milwaukee," Pfeiffer said. "It’s a really large project and a great project for the community here in Missoula.”
The bridge being replaced dates back to 1957. Traffic will continue to be able to use Russell, but it will almost certainly get slower.
“There may be occasionally times when we’re stopping traffic,” Pfeiffer said. “We will have traffic narrowed down into two lanes, one lane in each direction, and it’s going to cause slowdowns through the project site during construction. We anticipate the major groundbreaking starting in the beginning half of April this season, you may already notice there’s some begging work being done out there.”
An open house will be available to the public to see plans for Russell Street. The open house is next Monday, March 19 from 3-7 p.m. at the Salvation Army
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