The Boulder River Bridge

The trusses on this structure were salvaged from the “Hubbard” or “Red” Bridge. The original structure was built by the Gillette-Herzog Manufacturing Company in 1899. The company was one of several Minnesota-based bridge construction firms active in Montana from the late 19th century to the early 1920's. The bridge was one of eight pin-connected Pratt through truss spans built by the company over a ten-year period beginning in 1891. It provided access to Boulder from the rich mining and ranching operations located on the west side of the river. The design of this structure represents an accord between local citizens wanting to preserve some aspect of the original bridge, while providing a structure that could accommodate modern traffic needs. The new bridge represents the best of late 19th century and late 20th century technologies.