Popular Montana Trail Bridges Still Not Replaced 2 Years Later

Over the weekend my wife and I went for a hike up to Woodbine Falls near Nye,  Montana. In order to reach the falls, you have to cross a small section of the creek by walking or climbing over a log. Why? Two years after the floods of 2022 the trail bridge is still out.

Then, after sharing that story over the weekend, I read the latest news update about the tragic story of missing Montana State University student Dylan Honnoll. I was aware of this story after he went missing back on July 12th. Then, I read over the weekend that he went missing after falling into the water while attempting to cross the above river. (That bridge got wiped out in the 2022 floods)

According to The Billings Gazette: "In 2022, historic floods destroyed a bridge that had crossed over East Rosebud Creek at the bottom of the lake. The bridge, slated to be rebuilt in 2025, was replaced with a log. Honnoll was trying to cross the creek when he slipped, the Gazette previously reported. The current carried him downstream and out of sight."

That got me asking the question: why is it that these trail bridges still haven't been replaced? Especially now that a young man appears to have tragically lost his life. 

*By the way, thanks to Griffen Smith and The Billings Gazette for permission to use the above photo.

I threw that question to the Custer Gallatin National Forest. Here is the full response that I got back from Amy Haas, the Beartooth District Ranger for the Custer Gallatin National Forest with the US Forest Service.

Update/Response from US Forest Service: 

Post flood of 2022 was spent evaluating and assessing the catastrophic widespread flood damage both on and off the Forest. Also, at this time funding was being secured for flood repair including main roads, Forest Service roads, road bridges, trail bridges, trails, and other infrastructure.

By the numbers, the Beartooth District had 8 trail bridges damaged in the flood and the forest had over 300 damage points.  Of course, opening main roads and road bridges that were for critical infrastructure such as Stillwater mine, Glacier Lake Dam, primary residences, and businesses was priority number one.

After assessments were conducted, we continued to evaluate priorities based on visitor use, funding acquired, location and the needs of the specific repair. At this time, both the Rimrock and Woodbine falls bridges are scheduled to be installed in the Summer of 2025 via contract.

In the meantime, the Forest Service trail crew has been improving the trails and will provide support to the contractor when the bridges are installed. The things happening behind the scenes include bridge design, contract package preparation, fabrication, and contract award.

Several bridge designs took extra work due to circumstances such as being in Wilderness or crossing the East Rosebud Wild and Scenic River. A couple bridges were repaired and/or installed using government personal including Lake Fork Bridge up the Main Fork of Rock Creek.

Some things to keep in mind are many contractors were inundated with work post flood and supplies/materials were limited in supply. Within the first season we focused on main ingress and egress routes working closely with the State and County and in the case of the Beartooth Hwy -MDOT and FedHwys.

We also focused on communicating to the public the extent of the damage. For example, East Rosebud Road was all but gone in many sections. Stillwater trailhead was complete destruction. Other messaging was informing of bridges out due to flooding. Last year the work continued gaining proper permits for construction and assessing resource needs such as archeological clearance.

We opened all the main corridors including West Fork of Rock Creek, Stillwater, East and West Rosebud and the Main Fork of Rock Creek all the way to Glacier Lake trailhead. And year 3 will include many trail bridges being constructed or repaired through contract.

In house trail work, bridge design and contract oversight will continue for the next few years. That’s an incredible timeline considering the magnitude of the damage across the communities. Again, thanks for reaching out and if you need updated trail and bridge conditions call the Beartooth Ranger Station # 406-446-2103.