Road construction along one of Montana’s national scenic highways is drawing concern from conservation groups worried about fish habitat and summer dump truck traffic through Red Lodge.Beartooth Scenic Highway, known for its 5,500-foot climb over 12 miles of switchbacks and inclines, was badly damaged by unprecedented flooding along Rock Creek in 2022. Segments of the road were completely washed out. Montana’s transportation department chose to relocate portions of the two-lane highway up to 80 feet away from the stream. The road reopened later that summer, but construction work has been ongoing.More work will be done when the snow clears in 2025. Deep snows close the seasonal road, which tops out at 10,947 feet of elevation, for several months every year.About 300 feet of the road is slated for slope excavation above Rock Creek, raising local concerns about erosion into the Rock Creek fishery, known for stunning mountain views and relatively light use by fly-fishers compared to other rivers in the region. Armoring the bank with riprap — typically large stones assembled to deflect erosive currents — for about 275 feet is likely to send the power of the Rock Creek toward the opposite bank further downstream, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Riprap reinforcement has been the norm along rivers in the area for generations, but not without consequence, Katie Young of Trout Unlimited, told Montana Free Press. The organization has been concerned about riprap in flood-impacted areas of the Beartooths and Yellowstone National Park. “There was a long period of time where that was kind of the status quo, pretty consistently,” Young said. “There are definitely areas where you notice where water is maybe like coming off of a bank that is armored with riprap and has really severe impacts on the opposite side of the river just downstream. When there’s a lot of force being cut off on one side that bounces to the other side.” The state Department of Transportation referred questions to the project’s contractor and private manager.David Arthun, a conservationist who lives in Joliet, became concerned about the work planned for next spring after hearing about the amount of 29,000 cubic yards of earth to be moved. Arthun confirmed that volume in correspondence with Wilson and Company, the private consultant hired by the state to manage the project. Assuming that dump trucks will likely haul an average of 16 cubic yards of sediment, Arthun calculated the number truck trips through Red Lodge at about 1,800, unless the contractor opts for “lowboy” trucks, which haul 20-40 cubic yards. “So, all that material gets hauled down to Red Lodge, and then through Red Lodge. I don’t think there’s another way. Where they want to take it is on the west bench, north and to the west, past the cemetery, four or five miles on the other side of Red Lodge.” Arthun has visited the construction site along Beartooth Highway. The area to be excavated includes a sleep slope studded with toppled trees and a few large rocks that is sloughing toward the creek, but hasn’t cut it off. Without work, the bank will continue eroding until it reaches an angle of repose. Arthun questions whether the funding for the project will be well spent.Ashford Galbreath, who works for Wadsworth Construction, which is doing the work, said he doesn’t yet know how many trucks it will take to move the 29,000 cubic yards of soil, but expects the project to require about seven trips a day from April through July. The slope between the highway and Rock Creek needs to be excavated, said Emerson Zamora, of project manager Wilson and Company. Zamora called the current drop-off dangerous to anyone who might park along the highway and walk out to it.  RELATED ‘Exceptional set of circumstances’ converge to shatter streamflow records across southern Montana Low temperatures and persistent precipitation combined with an unusually high June snowpack to set the stage for historic flooding in southwest and south-central Montana June 13. At least five rivers in Park, Carbon and Stillwater counties set all-time records for high flows, wiping out bridges and roads and sending entire buildings downstream. by Amanda Eggert 06.14.202206.15.2022 Can Gardiner survive its latest disaster? Nestled in the scenic Yellowstone River valley along the Montana-Wyoming border, Gardiner, Montana — with its Old West facades, fly shops, and whitewater outfitters — serves as a year-round gateway to Yellowstone National Park. Its proximity to the northern entrance to the country’s oldest and arguably grandest national park fuels the town’s tourism-based economy. With a year-round population of fewer than 900 people, Gardiner is almost entirely reliant on the nearly three-quarters of a million visitors who pass through Yellowstone’s north gate each year. The summer season, the busiest and most lucrative time of year for most Gardiner businesses, was… by John S. Adams 06.17.202207.28.2022 Zamora said Wilson hired the government’s preferred consultant to justify modifying Rock Creek. He said the project has been planned in partnership with state and federal wildlife agencies.“We’ve had multiple meetings with them to talk about solutions. We’re providing fish habitat at the base of the slope, so we’re basically incorporating their recommendations into our plan, so they are dictating what we’re doing at the bottom of the hill. We’re designing everything in collaboration with them to ensure that we do not damage the natural environment and that we leave everything better than it was,” Zamora said. The cost of the work is unknown, according to the consultant and contractor. The federal government has invested $5.7 million in early emergency construction work, and later put the total estimated cost of highway repairs at more than $22 million. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks told Montana Free Press on Friday that it is still working through the permitting process for the construction. “FWP is working with MDT on the project, and because it will modify the streambed and banks of Rock Creek, we will be responsible for issuing permits for components of the project,” said FWP spokesperson Greg Lemon. LATEST STORIES Behind the scenes of a turbulent 2024 election in Cascade County Personnel and politics converged in a way that added to the struggles many had in casting a vote in the 2024 general election in Cascade County, which joined other populous Montana counties with excruciating wait times for same-day registration. 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