The Montana Department of Transportation announced that Wadsworth Brothers Construction was awarded the contract to build the bridge across the Yellowstone River that will be part of the Billings Bypass project.
Wadsworth Brothers Construction was the lowest bid, at $30,145,038, of the five companies that bid on the project. The engineer’s estimate was $30,698,959.50. Other companies bidding were Sletten Construction, Dick Anderson Construction, Hamilton Construction and Ames Construction.
Wadsworth Brothers Construction is headquartered in Draper, Utah.
Construction of the bridge is expected to begin this year and is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2022.
The bridge will include two vehicular travel lanes in each direction and a 10-foot multi-use path on the west side of the bridge.
The project segment will extend from the end of Mary Street/Five Mile Road and over the Yellowstone River.
Phase 4 of the project, with anticipated construction in 2023, will be the construction of a roadway from the southern end of the completed Yellowstone River bridge to the south side of Coulson Road including a new bridge structure over the railroad tracks and Coulson Road. The overpass bridge sub-structure will be designed to accommodate four lanes of traffic but initially only two 12-foot lanes will be built with 8-foot shoulders. The final roadway elevation between the bridge structures will be about 8 feet higher than existing ground level.
Engineers are in conversations with the railroad regarding their future needs and with the developers of the TEDD (Targeted Economic Development District) Industrial Park, through which the road will pass.
Phase 3 is the Johnson Lane Interchange, which is in the design process, set to begin construction in 2022. The Granite Construction/LHC team was selected in 2019 as the construction manager/ general contractor for the Johnson Lane Interchange.
The Johnson Lane interchange will be Montana’s first diverging diamond interchange, an intersection style that offers many safety benefits. It will have nine signalized intersections to improve traffic flow and improve clearance for large vehicles under Interstate 90. Designers plan to lower Johnson Lane to achieve the desired clearance requirements and avoid drainage problems like the 6th Street Underpass. The area has a current grade to accommodate the overall lowering of Johnson Lane.
Final design elements of the Johnson Lane Interchange should be substantially complete by the end of summer, and right-of-way acquisition will begin in the fall. Interchange construction is currently anticipated to begin in 2022.
The first phase of constructing the Bypass began last summer with the reconstruction of Five Mile Road by Riverside Contracting, and is continuing with expectations to be completed by the end of the year.
Phase 5 and Phase 6 will be the construction of Coulson Road, planned for 2024, and the construction of a new urban arterial, north of Mary Street, that will connect Five Mile Road to US 87 is anticipated to begin construction in 2025.
