Project Overview

STPB 29-1(63)17
UPN: 8932000

This project is a cooperative effort between the Ruby Valley Conservation District, the Montana Department of Transportation, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and two private landowners. The project aims to improve and maintain safety along Highway 287 between Nevada City and Virginia City, restore the confluence of Granite Creek and Alder Gulch, and protect native fish species in upper Granite Creek following the reconnection between these two waterbodies.

The project will replace the existing bridge over Granite Creek, and the new bridge will be moved approximately 200 feet to the east. The roadway will be widened with minor realignment. The widened roadway will consist of two 12-foot-wide lanes and 4-foot-wide shoulders; the new bridge will have a useable width of 40 feet. The roadway reconstruction will extend for approximately 2,700 feet, approximately 900 feet west and 1,800 feet east of the existing bridge.

Granite Creek – 3 Mi NW of Virginia City Aerial image

Project Benefits

  • Improve safety of the roadway, and bring the roadway up to current standards.
  • Replace an aging existing timber structure, maintaining a safe, functioning roadway
  • Improving the Granite Creek Road intersection so trucks can easily make the turn
  • Enhancing and restoring Granite Creek

Project Timeline

The project design will occur through 2022. Road and bridge construction will take place in 2023.

The Ruby Valley Conservation District is leading the design of the stream restoration project. The stream restoration will be constructed before the new road and bridge.

Impacts to the Public

Design Phase (minimal public impact)

  • Periodic traffic control measures with reduced speeds and flaggers during field work.
  • Geotechnical work with test holes bored into the existing highway and right-of-way to investigate the soil conditions underneath and adjacent to the roadway.

Design Phase (minimal public impact)

  • The new bridge will be shifted east, and the current roadway will remain open during construction. Expect some delays due to trucks entering the leaving and when making the connection to the existing highway.

UPN 8932000