Crews have started clearing trees along U.S. Highway 2 in the Bad Rock Canyon in preparation for the reconstruction of the South Fork of the Flathead bridge this summer.

There will be no detour associated with the project, said Bob Vosen, district construction engineer for the Montana Department of Transportation. Traffic will simply use the old bridge while the new bridge is being constructed, just downstream. Traffic delays, if there are any, will be at night, said Jason Livingston, engineering project manager for MDT.

Vosen said the trees are being cut down to make way for a new alignment of the highway to the bridge. The MDT has a permit with the Forest Service, which owns the land. The tree work, to comply with the Migratory Bird Act, will be completed by April 15 to protect nesting birds in the area, he said.

The timber will go to Weyerhaeuser and F.H. Stoltze mills, they said.

The cost to build the new bridge is estimated at $15 to $20 million. Bids were due this week and the contract will be let in mid-June. The new bridge will be substantially longer than the old bridge. The old bridge is 570 feet long and narrow. The new bridge will be 840 feet long and have a pedestrian/bike path, along with access to the river.

The road will also be widened in the area as well with two driving lanes and four-foot shoulders. The project, however, does not widen the highway through the Canyon itself — that’s a project that’s still years down the road.

The new bridge should be completed by the fall of 2018, with cleanup work the following spring if need be, Vosen and Livingston noted.