In June 2022, heavy rain and melting mountain snow in southern Montana caused widespread flooding. In the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, the Montana National Guard rescued 80 residents of a small lake community when the bridge on the only route to the area was washed away. The impasse also prohibited access to the nearby East Rosebud Campground, a popular U.S. Forest Service-operated destination.

One week after the flood, forest engineers inspected the area and determined that, along with the bridge, three miles of the route had also been destroyed. By late summer, a detailed topographical survey was completed and a proposal for the construction of a long-term temporary bridge and road was put out for bid with the contract awarded in March 2023.

Because restoring access for residents and visitors as quickly as possible was a priority, the U.S. Forest Service selected a single-lane Acrow 700XS® bridge for the project. In addition to ease and speed of assembly and installation, Acrow’s structures can be delivered to the most remote or challenging locations.

Components of the bridge arrived at the site in late May, with assembly largely completed in June. Although the project’s progress was complicated by high water conditions for several weeks, Thompson Contracting Inc. safely installed the bridge using a cantilever launch and a temporary pier. The route opened to traffic on August 4.

Acrow’s modular steel bridge is 160 feet (48.77m) long and 13.78 feet (4.2m) wide, with an epoxy aggregate deck surface, and is designed to HL-93 loading. It is expected to be in place for at least two years until the new bridge is designed and built, at which point the modular structure will be disassembled and stored for future use by the U.S. Forest Service.