The Dearborn River High Bridge is a Pratt half-deck truss bridge built in 1897, and has been placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

as it is one of the few bridges of its type left standing in the United States. On a half-deck bridge, the deck is attached in the center rather than, as is more common, top or bottom of the superstructure. It crosses the

Dearborn River The Dearborn River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 70 mi (113 km) long, in central Montana in the United States. It rises in the Lewis and Clark National Forest, near Scapegoat Mountain in the Lewis and Clark Ran ...

on Lake Bean Road (Montana Secondary 435) about southwest of

Augusta, Montana Augusta is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, United States. The population was 309 at the 2010 census and rising to 316 in the 2020 census. The most accepted version in the naming o ...

. The unusual design of the Dearborn River High Bridge suits it to carry light loads across high/deep crossings. It has four spans and a wooden plank deck. It is the last standing pin-connected Pratt half-deck truss bridge left in the United States. Construction cost was $9,997. Construction began in 1896 and completed in 1897. This crossing point on the Dearborn River had been used for many years by the local Indian tribes, primarily the

Blackfeet The Blackfeet Nation ( bla, Aamsskáápipikani, script=Latn, ), officially named the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, is a federally recognized tribe of Siksikaitsitapi people with an Indian reservation in Mon ...

. Prior to the bridge's construction this location was known as the Ponderay Crossing. The river was named for

United States Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

Henry Dearborn Henry Dearborn (February 23, 1751 – June 6, 1829) was an American military officer and politician. In the Revolutionary War, he served under Benedict Arnold in his expedition to Quebec, of which his journal provides an important record ...

by Lewis and Clark in 1805. The area was left largely unexplored by Europeans for the next 50 years or so. The bridge was rehabilitated in 2003 by the

Montana Department of Transportation The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) is a governmental agency in the U.S. state of Montana, responsible for numerous programs related to the construction, maintenance, and monitoring of Montana's transportation infrastructure and operati ...

, with Sletten Construction of Great Falls, Montana as the lead contractor, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 18, 2003.

References

External links

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Dearborn River High Bridge / Lewis and Clark County, Montana
bridgehunter.com
Dearborn River High Bridge in Central Montana
bigskyfishing.com {{National Register of Historic Places Bridges completed in 1897 Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Montana Historic American Engineering Record in Montana National Register of Historic Places in Lewis and Clark County, Montana Steel bridges in the United States Pratt truss bridges in the United States 1897 establishments in Montana

See also

References

External links