SEELEY LAKE - Construction for the Smokes Cabin bridge replacement project will begin at the end of July and last through Sept. 1. The Smokes Cabin bridge crosses the North Fork of the Blackfoot River via Hobnail Tom Trail #32 at milepost 3.1. The current bridge has reached its appropriate lifespan and needs to be updated. During construction, the bridge crossing will be closed for public safety. The District’s goal is to complete the project ahead of the majority of hunting season.
Trail #32 will remain open for use. Outfitters and the general public will be detoured around the construction area across a river ford located a few hundred yards downstream. The public is asked to follow the flagged detour across the river ford and back onto the trail.
“We appreciate the public’s cooperation during this temporary closure and reroute,” said Quinn Carver, Seeley Lake District Ranger. “The detour was designed to lessen the impacts to the public, we look forward to opening the new bridge for use in September.”
Hobnail Tom Trail #32 is a major travel corridor for outfitters, guides and the public and provides access to the Scapegoat Wilderness/Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. This project marks the second season of updates to the trail corridor. Last summer, crews replaced the North Fork Cabin bridge, upstream from the Smokes Cabin bridge, which also provides access to the wilderness over the North Fork of the Blackfoot River.
The Seeley Lake Ranger District was approved for an exemption to fly building materials into the worksite via helicopter (flights will be limited to two days, tentatively beginning July 29). Flying materials into the site will lessen the impacts of the construction duration on the travel corridor and cut down pack trips necessary to transport materials for employee safety.
For additional information please call the Seeley Lake Ranger Station at 406-677-2233.
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