June 27, 2011
Missoula County Board of Commissioners
Director of Public Works
200 West Broadway
Missoula, Montana 59802
Re: Maclay Bridge Emergency Response
Commissioners Curtiss, Carey & Landquist, and Director Robertson;
Within the past two weeks, we have been greatly disturbed by a revelation related to Maclay Bridge. We are sure you will agree that public safety is important, yet certain actions by Missoula County Public Works and the Board of County Commissioners have reduced the function of the bridge.
A 2003 engineering report by Frank Muth & Associates advised Maclay Bridge capacity could be upgraded to 36 tons. The bridge was upgraded in 2004 to 14 tons, expressly for the purpose of allowing school buses and emergency response vehicles to cross. As a consequence, Missoula County Rural Fire Department has been crossing the river with first response vehicles which included a type 1 engine with a gross weight of 16 tons. We have to ask you why the capacity upgrade only went to 14 tons when it easily could have gone to 18 tons?
Nevertheless, emergency vehicle crossing was based on a verbal agreement between Mr. Horace Brown and Mr. Reed, rural fire chief at that time. Suddenly, last February, that changed. Erroneously, the Director of Public Works publicly declared that emergency response vehicles could not cross the bridge. He was promptly corrected by nearby residents who revealed emergency vehicles crossed frequently. It seems the reaction of DPW was to immediately issue a directive that halted use of the type 1 fire truck, subject to certification.
We do not object to formal certification, in fact we strongly support it, and the Montana Department of Transportation has volunteered to assist with structural analysis for that purpose. What we do vehemently object to is a ‘knee jerk’ reaction that reduces the response options by our rural fire department. Your action has interrupted reliable service without proof that damage to the bridge will occur by continuing practices that have been in use for more than 6 years. Furthermore, it is nearly July. We are beginning the sixth month with no certification and we are at the beginning of fire season. By all appearances, Public Works does not communicate well with other departments and does not seem to be aware of other department activities related to its own function. Further procrastination with respect to expediting certification or taking steps to get emergency response back to the pre-February status certainly does not indicate safety is your first priority. Our question to the Board of County Commissioners is how do you intend to remediate this issue, and when?
We would appreciate a written response by July 15, 2011.
Submitted by,
Robert M Schweitzer for
Maclay Bridge Alliance
11905 Green Acres Rd
Missoula, Montana 59804
XC: D. Colwell, Rural Fire
J. Lynch, Director, MDT
D. Moeller, MDT
