Devastating flooding in Montana almost took out this bridge in June 2022. Completed in 1909, Shields River Valley Railway built this 22-mile line north from a connection on the Northern Pacific at Mission, Montana, to serve the agricultural communities of Grannis, Chadborn, Clyde Park, and Wilsall. A year later it became a NP branch, eventually becoming the property of Burlington Northern Railroad in 1970. The line was abandoned by BN in 1985, but amazingly, in 2022, the rail is still in place at many locations.
This Pratt through truss bridge crosses the Yellowstone River at the beginning of the branch at Mission. During the floods, rushing water caused quite a bit of undermining of the bridge piers, as well as destroying the earthen approach on the north end and left the light rails of the branch hanging over the high, rushing waters of the Yellowstone on June 28, 2022. Because of all the damage, the bridge has since been demolished and removed.
