Loose bolts prompt weight restriction on new I-90 Yellowstone River bridge

BILLINGS- The Montana Department of Transportation has implemented a weight restriction on the new $70 million three lane bridge that extends the Yellowstone River on Interstate 90 through Billings.

The reason? Improperly tensioned bolts, according to Billings District Administrator Mike Taylor.

“We are frustrated, the contractors are frustrated,” said Taylor. “But we are going to do what it takes to implement some changes and make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Taylor says, during a routine safety inspection of the brand-new bridge, engineers detected several high strength bolts that did not meet the specified tension requirements.

In the structure lies 27,000 bolts and Taylor says during a recent safety inspection they found 24 on the eastbound bridge and 40 on the westbound bridge for a total of 64 loose bolts.

Taylor says in the interest of preventing potential long term durability issues to the new infrastructure, overweight heavy loads are restricted until a detailed assessment and corrective action is completed.

Taylor wants to reassure the public and drivers, the bridge is safe and secure.

“First of all, I want to say the bridge is safe the structure is safe,” he said.

The Yellowstone River bridge project began in the fall of 2021 taking the interstate corridor from two lanes on both the eastbound and westbound lanes, to three.

The project was completed in 2024 and mostly funded through a combination of federal, state and local sources. MDT says federal road and bridge revenues are generated through gasoline taxes and apportioned to states through federal highway legislation.

29,000 vehicles travel across the bridge spanning the Yellowstone River, each day, so the upgrade was needed.

“Billings is growing so we have increased traffic,” he said.

Taylor says the construction was virtually seamless, navigating two construction seasons while keeping the bridge open continuously for traffic.

“It’s one of the biggest, if not the biggest project that we’ve ever led,” said Taylor. “It is a great project from our side and the contractor side.”

However, the hiccup with the bolts is impacting local and nationwide heavy haulers, like Hi-Ball Trucking in Billings.

“It’s one of those things, that just makes you scratch your head,” said Tanner Smith. “It’s like I can’t believe we are doing this. It’s just crazy.”

Smith’s family’s trucking company has been around for decades and on a weekday when MTN News went to ask him questions about rerouting loads, the company’s expansive fleet was already on the road at work.

The loads restricted from the bridge currently are permitted loads that are over the legal weight limit for travel.

“I am sure people around here see the wind turbines, that’s considered a heavy weight,” said Smith. “It could be anything, around here it's equipment like excavator's rock trucks, dump trucks.”

Hi-Ball Trucking does all of that and most recently were forced to take a heavy load around the detour, adding an additional hour to the commute.

Something Smith says, is just another day ‘in the office’ for them. However, additional costs for the job are often passed onto High Ball’s customers.

“Some of these loads they are okay with a permit on the interstate, but if you leave the interstate, you need these pilot cars so now, we must get pickups out there with the signs and the flags and take them along that detour and that could cost thousands a day,” said Smith.

MDT issues permit for loads that exceed the legal width, length, height, or weight to ensure that loads are transported safely and legally.

Taylor says currently an analysis is underway to determine what happened with the bolts, meaning a timeline on the restriction is unknown.

“Maybe it was the bolting pattern, maybe they skipped a bolt,” he said.

However, he says, MDT’s contractor; which is HDR, has replaced the identified bolts as of two weeks ago and the agency is now waiting for engineers to complete an assessment.