Montana leaders have announced that 11 bridges - mostly around Lewistown - will be replaced in conjunction with a major project to upgrade the nuclear missiles scattered across the state.
Governor Greg Gianforte announced that the Montana Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Defense reached an agreement to replace the aging bridges as part of the the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, or Sentinel, project.
“Montana, like the rest of the nation, is facing an onslaught of bridges reaching end-of-service life, and we simply don’t have the resources to replace them all at once,” said MDT Director Chris Dorrington in a statement. “We are working every angle to improve this, including partnerships, alternative project delivery, ensuring efficient environmental approvals, and bundling multiple bridge replacements per contract. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with DOD on this project as the Lewistown community prepares for the Sentinel Missile program.”
Eight of the bridges are along Montana Highway 81 between Lewistown and Square Butte.
The remaining three are south of Lewistown, south of Hobson and north of Shawmut.
The state says they’ll work to speed up the projects by using an alternate contracting process that will give DOD and MDT input into the design. DOD is providing $7 million in funding through the Defense Access Road Program.
The Sentinel project will replace Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, including 150 located in central Montana and overseen by Malmstrom Air Force Base. The launch silos where the missiles are located will be fully renovated, and new operations facilities will be constructed. Federal authorities say the project will extend the land-based missile field’s capabilities through 2075.
The project includes the renovation of existing missile launch facilities, the construction of two dozen new missile alert facilities, and 62 new communication towers within the missile fields overseen by Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, and F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming.
The 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom is responsible for 150 launch facilities – the unmanned silos where missiles are located; and 15 missile alert facilities – where military personnel monitor and operate the system. They’re spread across a 13,800-square-mile missile field that covers parts of eight counties: Cascade, Chouteau, Fergus, Judith Basin, Lewis & Clark, Meagher, Teton, and Wheatland.
The project is expected to lead to large-scale construction, particularly around Lewistown and Great Falls, where two “workforce hubs” are planned.
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