A federal grant of $3 million has been awarded to replace the Glacier Creek Road bridge in Condon, Montana, which has sat closed since 2023 after inspectors identified severe structural problems that made it unsafe for continued use. U.S. Senator Steve Daines played a direct role in securing the funding by writing to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy requesting federal attention to the project.

A Closure That Cut Off a Community

The bridge sits a couple of miles past the start of Glacier Creek Road and served as a key supply corridor for the Swan Valley. When it was shuttered three years ago, residents and businesses lost a primary route for moving goods and services through the area.

Daines described the span as a lifeline for the region. “It was a critical piece of infrastructure used by everybody in the area, until it had to be closed down back in 2023, because of some severe structural deficiencies,” he said, adding that the closure effectively cut off the pipeline for commerce throughout the Swan Valley.

Grant Secured Through Direct Outreach

The $3 million award comes through the federal BUILD grant program, which funds transportation infrastructure projects across the country. Daines credited his direct outreach to the Department of Transportation for moving the project forward, framing it as a case where Washington needed to be pushed to act on a local need that had lingered too long.

“This was a critical need,” Daines said. “Finally, we’ve got the attention of the Secretary of Transportation; we got the grant awarded.”

What Comes Next

A replacement timeline has not been formally set, though the project is expected to take a couple of years from start to completion. Local officials and residents will likely watch closely as planning and contracting work moves forward, given how long the community has operated without the crossing.

The grant represents a significant infusion of federal infrastructure dollars into a rural Montana corridor that has had limited options for rerouting traffic and supply chains since the 2023 closure. For Swan Valley communities, restoration of the bridge would reopen a direct route that residents and businesses have been without for more than three years.