Bike path/pedestrian overpass opens in Pablo
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
2 of 3 free articles.
PABLO — With tall metal tepee poles anchoring each end, the bike path/pedestrian overpass from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Complex across Highway 93 to Salish Kootenai College was officially opened on July 27.
After SKC Art Department Chair Corwin “Corky” Clairmont blessed the structure, CSKT Tribal Council President Bud Moran said the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 money built the walkway.
“It connects two very important programs of the tribe — tribal headquarters and SKC,” Moran noted, “I’m very proud of that.”
SKC President Emeritus Joe McDonald thanked Mike Brown, CSKT Department of Roads, and Janet Camel, who led the brainstorming for the project.
“We really wanted to make a statement, let people know they are in the heart of the reservation,” McDonald explained.
Brown provided ceremony goers with facts and figures on the overpass.
The $3.2 million project is 265 feet long from end to end and rises 17 feet 6 inches above Highway 93. The project is a bicycle pedestrian bridge with bridge abutments and approach ramps. The pedestrian approaches, sidewalks, handrails and bridge deck meet the requirements of Americans with Disabilities Act.
Since the project was ARRA funded, the Federal Highway Administration Montana District Office provided full oversight. Kevin McLaury from the FHWA recalled he thought a pedestrian overpass was going to be quite a challenge. When they brought the first functional plan to the tribal council, they were told it was ugly — institutional, square, gray and made of concrete — so they went home and rethought the project. He thanked HDR for a good design.
Kevin Howlett, representing the State Department of Transportation, acknowledged Joe McDonald and former CSKT council members Lloyd Irvine and Ron Trahan who kept the heat on MDT.
Howlett said, “This (overpass) is an integral part of the People’s Way.”
After the speeches and greetings, everyone took a ceremonial first walk across the overpass.
