Highway 43 Road Construction Project – Chief Joseph Pass to Wise River
Construction resuming on Wisdom West and Wise River Northwest Projects
Wise River Northwest
Construction is anticipated to resume on the Wise River Northwest project Thursday, June 23, pending weather. At this time, crews will begin a chip seal and cover of Highway 43 in the project area. This chip seal will be between the Sportsman’s Fishing Access Site and Wise River. The chip seal is anticipated to take approximately one week.
Wisdom West
Work is anticipated to resume on the Wisdom West project the week of June 27, pending weather. Crews will begin milling and paving new bridge approaches along Highway 43. Crews will apply an interim striping to the project area following resurfacing and plan to return in July to apply the final, permanent markings.
During this work, motorists should expect:
Reduced speed limits.
Traffic will be controlled by traffic-sensing smart signals.
Pilot cars and flaggers will be on-site.
Remaining work to be completed this year includes:
Milling and paving bridge approaches between Chief Joseph Pass and Wisdom.
Chip sealing the roadway between Big Hole Bitterroot Road and Wisdom.
Chip sealing the roadway between the Sportsman’s Fishing Access Site and Wise River.
Adding final striping (paint) and pavement markings.
The majority of construction on these projects was completed last year. Work was at times halted to allow fire crews to respond to the nearby Trail Creek and Alder Creek fires.
Work completed in 2021 included:
Replacing two bridges over Trail Creek.
Resurfacing approximately 35 miles of pavement.
Repairing the bridge deck over the Big Hole River near Wisdom.
Repairing deteriorated pavement near the Ruby Creek Bridge.
Upgrading guardrails, roadside markers (delineators), and signs.
The Montana Department of Transportation thanks you for your patience throughout construction.
Original source can be found here.
