The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1930-07-11
vss given. On Dec. 10 the con

was given. On Dec. 10 the con
tract was awarded to the Mis-
souri, Bridge and Iron company OF
Leavenworth, Kan, for S427, 644.40,
or about $21, 1000 under the esti
mates of the engineers. The
bridge was to be completed by
July /, 1880, but the first cars
drove across it a month before
that date.
Work Starts
Even after the letting Of the
contract there were some who
were afraid to believe that their
dreams were coming true. They
said, "Oh, yes, we'll believe it
when we see them working on the
bridge" The first bridge men ar
rived March Is, 1929. Glen Fraser
was the contractors superintend-
ent in charge Of the work.
Soon a little town grew up in
the woods on the north bank OF
the bridge site-bunk houses, a
mess hall, blacksmith shop and a
number of cottages were built for
several of the men who brought
their families with them. A spur
of track was built from the Great
Northern railway to the north end
of the bridge site, so that ma
obs,orr on5 notarioIC could ho
brought directly there. A narrow
gauge track, supported by piling
and a skeleton bridge, was thrown
across the river. A gasoline loco
motive pulled cars and materials
along this track as needed. Gals
sons we're sunk and piers given
a foundation on a shale stratum
so feet below the river bed.
AS the work progressed the
bridge site became a mecca for
sightseers and watching the pro-
gress of the bridge became a ia
vorite Sunday diversion. Hundreds
of cars bowled along the graded
highway from the north and doz-
ems we're parked on the south
side. Favorable weather aided the
progress of the work and the huge
concrete piers were completed be-
fore the river froze over last fall.
There were none now who doubt
ed the naturalization of the
dream.
Description of Bridge
The bridge proper consists of
two 275-foot and one 400-foot riv-
eted steel truss spans, with a So
foot steel I-beam approach span
at the north end and a 60-foot
steel I-beam approach on the
south end. The bridge has a rein
forced concrete deck 20 feet be-
tween curbs. The main channel
span provides a vertical clearance
Of SO feet from low steel to max
imum high water. There are two
river piers, two shore piers and
two open reinforced concrete ped
estal bents. Piers one and four
each consist of twin cylindrical
caissons 9 feet in diameter,
Tiled with concrete and surmount-
I'd with concrete columns and tie
Piers two and four rest on
plain concrete caisson blocks, re-
;pectively So by II feet and so
BY II feet. These caisson blocks
penetrate s feet into the shale
md extend to 66.5 and COS feet
,elow low water. The piers are
III Of reinforced concrete. Riprap-
ling is placed at the north end
# the bridge to prevent washing
# the earth embankment at flood
easons.
Approximate amounts of materi-
! used in the bridge include 1,150
.ns OK structural steel, 14% tons
f cast steel, 83A tons of rein
steel, 6,O96 cubic yards of
.oncrete, weighing two tons to
he cubic yard, and 1000 cubic
ards of excavation was required.
he high, beautiful arches are
cientifically trussed and braced
0 as to withstand the force of
wind.
When asked how great a load
ne bridge would carry, P. NJ.
Iegdahl, resident engineer of the
Iontana state highway depart
tent, replied that it was designed
, carry two lanes of 15-ton
'ucks with 30-foot spaces. Such
bridge would last almost for
yer, he said. In a dry climate
lie action of the elements does
ot cause such a structure to
e~teriorate.
Memorial And Monument
And so for generations to come
will stand as a memorial to
lose whose lives have been lost
the Missouri and as a monu-
ent to those whose cooperation