
(Photo by Lindsay Wright)
(Artwork by Edd Enders)
The Ninth Street Island Bridge in Happier Times.
Mid-city Livingston seems more like downtown Chicago as local residents flock to the site of the collapsing Ninth Street Island bridge in droves with cameras, on bikes, pushing strollers, toting picnics and bringing the whole family of kids and dogs to witness the end of an era as the bridge heaves its final solid breaths.
As a resident of Ninth Street near the currently collapsing bridge, the street in front of my home has been teeming with people all afternoon and helicopters have buzzed above as resistant island residents are finally evacuated from their houses. On the sidewalk in front of my home, virtually every notable Livingston resident has wandered by, from Edd Enders to Susan Ellis, John Grant and more, all headed down to the river to witness Livingston history.
The Yellowstone river is expected to crest at its highest point in decades this week, and the bridge will be an obvious casualty of this year's flood season.
According to the Montana Department of Transportation, a temporary replacement bridge should be installed within the week.
—Reilly Neill
news@livingstonweekly.com
For more information, detailed reports and photos, click on the following links:
Billings KULR Channel 8 Video of Bridge Collapsing
Local Photographer's Coverage of Impending Collapse
Livingston Enterprise Coverage
Bozeman Chronicle Coverage
Great Falls Tribune Coverage
AP Wire Story