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A sign hanging on the south end of the sidewalk over the John Wodarz Bridge over the Milk River on Seventh Avenue in front of an excavation site says the sidewalk is closed. A Montana Department of Transportation official said the department is looking at ways for people who walk between North Havre and Havre over that sidewalk and the one on the viaduct, also closed during construction, to get back and forth.
The sidewalk over the John Wodarz Bridge over the Milk River on Seventh Avenue and on the Viaduct over the railroad tracks on Seventh Avenue are closed during construction. A Montana Department of Transportation official said the department is looking at ways for people who walk between North Havre and Havre over that sidewalk and the one on the viaduct, also closed during construction, to get back and forth.
The sidewalk over the John Wodarz Bridge over the Milk River on Seventh Avenue and on the Viaduct over the railroad tracks on Seventh Avenue are closed during construction. A Montana Department of Transportation official said the department is looking at ways for people who walk between North Havre and Havre over that sidewalk and the one on the viaduct, also closed during construction, to get back and forth.
Construction on Havre's Seventh Avenue viaduct and John Wodarz Bridge over the Milk River in North Havre has rendered sidewalks on both structures closed, which has prompted people to call the Department of Transportation and complain, an MDT employee said Tuesday.
Beth Doran, MDT project manager of the Havre Seventh Avenue Deck Preservation Project, said the department is aware the closing of the sidewalks is making some people unhappy.
"There is no pedestrian access at this time," she said. "We are getting calls. We know it's an inconvenience, but we can't get people through safely right now."
Doran added that MDT is working to open the sidewalk as quickly as possible - it will take between two to four weeks - and looking for temporary solutions in the meantime. One idea they are tinkering with, she said, is a shuttle service, but nothing has been solidified as of now.
Doran said the pedestrian walk has been closed since last Tuesday and it didn't come as a surprise.
"We knew we were going to be working on the sidewalk," she said.
Project Manager Ashley Davis of Dick Anderson Construction out of Helena, said the project required the sidewalks be closed.
"We are doing what the contract is asking us to do," he said.
Dick Anderson Construction was awarded the project on a bid of $1,456,173.98. The company has 85 working days to complete the project, scheduled to be complete by mid-August.
The multi-phase rehabilitation preventive care project is supposed to improve the deck surface and extend the life of the viaduct, as well as resurface the Milk River bridge.
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