Red Lodge Emergency Flood Repair Project

Project Overview

Over the last three years, an immense amount of work has taken place to repair and fortify the highways and bridges damaged by the June 2022 Rock Creek flood in Carbon and Stillwater counties. Maintenance, Engineering, Fiscal, and Environmental are just some of the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) experts involved in working alongside consultants, contractors, and resource agencies to push this emergency repair project to the finish line, and we are almost there. Two components are in the process of being finished, with completion expected by fall 2025.

Immediate Response

MDT Maintenance crews went to work straightaway with partners KLE Construction, Riverside Contracting, and Site Pro Construction. Crews worked to place riprap, a pit run, gravel, and pavement to rebuild flood damaged areas. By fall 2022, the team:

rebuilt multiple areas south of Red Lodge on the Beartooth Highway,
repaired a land plug that had washed out between two bridges on Secondary Highway 419 (S 419) near Absarokee,
worked on a bank washout that was threatening Montana Highway 72 (MT 72) outside of Belfry near the Wyoming border,
rebuilt a bridge approach on Montana Highway 78 (MT 78) in Roscoe and saved a bridge near Absarokee on Secondary Highway 420 (S 420) from washing out.

Red Lodge Emergency Flood Repair Project Map

Design – Build Project Milestones:

June 2022: Emergency Project Funding Programmed
August 2022: Design-Build contract awarded to Wadsworth Brothers Construction Company, Inc.
October 2022 – November 2022: Red Lodge – Broadway Avenue 17th Street to 19th Street Road Reconstruction including work on sidewalks, curb and gutter, guardrail, storm drains, signs, and other miscellaneous damaged roadway features.
January 2023 – July 2023: Red Lodge – Broadway Avenue Retaining Wall Construction
October 2023 – February 2024: Red Lodge – 19th Street Bridge and Secondary Highway 308 (S 308) Bridge Scour Repairs
April 2024 – June 2024: Absarokee – S 420 Bridge Scour Repairs
April 2024 – November 2024: Beartooth Highway mile marker 57.7 – Road Relocation Away from Rock Creek Slide Area
February 2025, expected completion June 2025: Fishtail – S 419, commonly known as Nye Road, Scour Repairs for Two Structures over East Rosebud Creek
April 2025, expected completion fall 2025: Beartooth Highway mile marker 57.7 – Excavate Slope and Armor Toe of Slope to Prevent Further Bank Loss and Future Damage

Resource and Permitting Agency Partners

US Army Corps of Engineers
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
Montana Department of Environmental Quality
US Forest Service
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Federal Highway Administration