Best of Montana Moment: Historic bridge merged human ingenuity with natural environment
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
Best of Montana Moment: Historic bridge merged human ingenuity with natural environment
Montana Highway Department engineers completed the bridge as part of the old Yellowstone Trail in 1918. The standard riveted through truss looks like many bridges of its day, except for one exceptional feature. The bridge is anchored on each side, but in the middle, there was a rise of rock on which the engineers built a concrete pillar to support the bridge. “It’s part of Alberton. Everybody knows the Natural Pier Bridge,” said Tim Cole, a rancher and horse trainer who grew up on a ranch across the river. “I felt pretty put out if somebody was parked there and blocking my way,” said Stormy Clark, who hauls his horses across the bridge, “It takes you back in the days of cart and wagon” “It’s just super cool to see something really old,” said London Keene, a young girl who plays on the sand bar just below the bridge with her family. “Whenever we’re out and about,” said Nikki, ” we find a treasure on the bridge”
The beloved landmark is a source of pride for its durability and unique design.
It merged human skill and ingenuity with its natural environment.
Montana Highway Department engineers completed the bridge as part of the old Yellowstone Trail in 1918.
Known as the Milwaukee Road, the train spanned Montana from Lookout Pass to the South Dakota border.
The standard riveted through truss looks like many bridges of its day, except for one exceptional feature.
“This one is different because of the pier underneath it,” said Montana Valley Book Store owner Keren Wolhart. ” It’s on Precambrian rock that rises up out of the Clark Fork.”
“The bridge is anchored on each side,” she said. “But in the middle, there was a rise of rock on which the engineers built a concrete pillar to support the bridge. That’s why we call it the Natural Pier.”
Keren lives across the Clark Fork River from town and drives the one-lane bridge twice a day.
“You have to have patience because someone may be coming from the other direction,” she said. “You have to wait. You also might have to wait for a train.”
“Going across that bridge you better be paying attention to the railroad track,” said Huson rancher and horse trainer Tim Cole.
Tim grew up on a ranch across the river from Alberton, and with his family, used the bridge every day.
“There wasn’t very many of us,” he said. “Maybe, tops-six.”
The population across the river has grown since the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s.
It’s probably getting more use than ever.
“It’s part of Alberton,” said Tim. “Everybody knows the Natural Pier Bridge. That set of rocks right in the middle for that center pier was just ideal.”
Tim laughed as he told NBC Montana that when he was a teenager he kind of saw the bridge as his turf.
“I felt pretty put out if somebody was parked there and blocking my way,” he laughed, It was “my bridge.”
In high school he crossed the bridge for school and sports a million times.
For years, he hauled livestock across the bridge.
We met Stormy Clark as he was hauling his horses across the bridge.
“It’s been here forever,” said Stormy of the bridge. ” I kind of grew up in Alberton and my family’s lived here most of their life. It takes you back in the days of cart and wagon.”
We also met the Keene family as they were playing on the sand bar just below the bridge.
Nikki Keene said she likes to “create as many moments as possible” for the kids.
That means getting out into the natural world as much as possible.
“Sometimes we go down to the river and explore,” said young Bryn Keene.
Jake Keene is a remote service technician who works on industrial air compressors.
He’s fascinated with the bridge and the engineers who built it.
He marveled at how crews from so many years ago incorporated the rocks to create the natural pier.
It was “ingenuity and creative ideas in trying to accomplish what you need to get done,” he said, “and using what you have to do that.”
He wondered what it might have been like on the bridge 100-plus years ago.
He figures “people’s great-great grandparents drove their Model-T’s across.”
“I think it’s just super cool to see something really old,” said London Keene. “It’s like a really cool artifact.”
“Whenever we’re out and about,” said Nikki, ” we must find a treasure.”
For the family that means creating memories for the kids to share when they grow up.
Bryn found her treasure on the bridge.
“I have this bolt that I found by the bridge, ” she said. “It has this pointy part, but I don’t know what that pointy part is for.”
Bryn will certainly research it more to find out.
The Natural Pier Bridge might be like an old friend in Alberton, a trusted neighbor, or a beloved grandfather, who in his 100-plus years is now a library of stories.
Tim certainly has a lot of stories to tell.
“It wasn’t real smart to tie a big hundred-foot-long ropes to the bottom of that bridge,” he laughed, ” and crawl down there in that fast-moving water on a surfboard.”
Keren’s grandkids call it the “bumpety-bump bridge.”
Keren recounts stories of a Canadian goose she and the grandkids have seen nesting and hatching goslings for the last five years.
She said driving the bridge, and sometimes having to wait for another car to come across gives her time to plan.
“Yeah, it does,” she said. “It makes me ponder what’s coming ahead for the day.”
“We lose the time today cause we went so fast trying to hurry up to get to tomorrow,” said Nikki. “But we need to slow down for a minute.”
Maybe sometimes, we should let the water do the rushing, letting it splash over the rock outcrops under the bridge on its way to tomorrow.