Flathead County has reopened the Old Steel Bridge to vehicle traffic after a thrifty repair job that was completed ahead of schedule.

The county announced Thursday that the 111-year-old bridge was once again open, with a 10 mph speed limit and a vehicle load limit of three tons.

The repair job was initially estimated to cost $200,000 and take 20 months to complete. But after further consultation with engineers, county officials found a less expensive way to keep the bridge open until 2007, when it is scheduled to be replaced by a new bridge.

Engineers estimated the alternative repair approach would cost $60,000.

It ended up costing less than half of that and it was finished in less than the two months it was expected to take, County Commissioner Gary Hall said Friday.

Even when work started in early June, there was uncertainty whether the planned repairs would be possible.

"We were concerned that once we got into it, we might discover that there was no way to fix it," Hall said. "We didn't know what we were going to get at, because there were layers of asphalt and patchwork all over that bridge."

When the old surfacing was removed, Hall said, "we found that the basic support structure was strong enough to hold the work so we moved forward."

Hall said the thrifty repairs and rapid completion were due to hard work and resourcefulness of Charlie Johnson, the county's road and bridge supervisor, and his crew.

Johnson saved considerable money by making use of materials from another recent bridge project, Hall said.

Residents in the Fair-Mont-Egan area who have long relied on the bridge have expressed appreciation for the reopening, Hall said. Those residents have had to detour several miles north to cross the Flathead River on Montana 35.

"People who live out there were calling us today and thanking us for getting it done quickly," Hall said.

With the initial $200,000 estimate, it appeared that the Old Steel Bridge might have to be closed for two years. The commissioners said at the time there was "no way" to justify that expense for a temporary bridge.

Engineers have suggested that the Old Steel Bridge can remain open during at least a major portion of the construction of the new bridge.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at [email protected]