If the Montana Department of Transportation's preliminary schedule holds, the six miles of US Highway 89 between Eastham Junction and Teton Lumber will be a different road by mid-November. Parts of it will sit on a new line, and it will cross the Teton River on a bridge that wasn't there last winter. Jay Manuel, MDT's construction operations engineer in Great Falls, told the Choteau Acantha that the schedule shows the main work finishing in mid-November 2026, with chipseal left for summer 2027.
So the pilot-car line south of town this fall is likely the last season of a Teton River crossing built in 1939. The road is being moved too, with the centerline shifting west, then east, then west again. By June, 80% of the old bridge structure had already been removed.
A bridge that outlasted the 1964 flood and then found no takers
The old Teton River crossing was a one-span riveted steel Warren pony truss built in 1939. The Acantha reports that it was partly rebuilt in 1965 after the June 1964 flood damaged it. The steel truss was one piece of a longer four-span concrete and timber structure.
In December 2024, MDT offered the bridge for adoption to any public or private group willing to take it and move it to a new site. MDT says it received no applications by the February 18, 2025 deadline. No group came forward, so the truss stayed in the work zone. By June 3, 2026, MDT reported that crews had removed 80% of the old structure and were starting to set permanent piles for the new bridge.
The new crossing is a three-span prestressed concrete bridge. MDT's September 25 update said the concrete deck had been poured and the barrier rail would be poured within the following week. Over the summer the bridge went from piers to beams to deck. Concrete went into some of the piers in July, and by August 24 all the beams were set.
The road is moving around Priest Butte
The new bridge is the most visible change, but the bigger one is where the highway itself will run. James A. Combs, MDT's Great Falls District preconstruction engineer, described the northbound alignment to the Acantha in detail. From the south end, the new centerline shifts west of the current one until the road nears Priest Butte. As it approaches the butte, it swings east. North of Priest Butte it moves back west but stays slightly east of the old line, close to it, until it crosses the Teton River. From there it stays east until it rejoins the existing road just north of Teton Lumber.
Moving the road takes a lot of fill. The Acantha reported that one of the largest fills is east of Priest Butte, where the centerline moves east. Some of that material is local. M.A. DeAtley Construction applied for an opencut mining permit on 7.4 acres of the Freeman Ranch, 2.5 miles south of Choteau on the west side of the highway, and planned to remove up to 100,000 cubic yards for the project. By mid-July, MDT reported that crews had finished the subgrade north of Priest Butte and were moving embankment work north toward town.
MDT's stated reasons for the rebuild are outdated design standards, limited passing, narrow shoulders, sharp curves, poor traffic flow, and a moderate-to-high potential for crashes. The new layout addresses each one:
- Lanes and shoulders: two 12-foot lanes and two 5-foot shoulders, 34 feet of pavement in total, with narrowed rumble strips designed to work for bicycles
- Curves and slopes: sharp curves eased and side slopes flattened
- Passing: new passing areas
- Roadside: new drainage structures, signs, rumble strips, and wildlife pullouts
What the drive looks like through October
Until the new alignment opens, traffic crosses the Teton on a temporary detour bridge. Combs described it as a structure downstream of the old one, with two 11-foot lanes. MDT moved traffic onto it in May. This changed the plan from the spring preview, when the Acantha reported that MDT had said no detour was scheduled.
The detour bridge also answered a concern from Deb Coverdell, Teton County's Disaster and Emergency Services director. She had told MDT that running ambulances on Priest Butte Road would cause undue wear and tear, and that she wanted a temporary bridge. Ambulances can also use the Dutton Highway. Coverdell drives between Fairfield and Choteau and goes through the construction daily. She called it "short-term pain for long-term gain."
As of MDT's construction report on October 3, 2026, and its September 25 project update, conditions are:
| What you'll find | Details |
|---|---|
| Speed | 35 mph through the work zone |
| Traffic control | One-lane sections, temporary signals, and pilot cars |
| Working hours | Tentatively Monday through Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. |
| Surface | Loose gravel in places; paving underway from the north end, moving south |
| Width limit | 11 feet on the detour bridge |
| Wide loads | Take an alternate route or call ahead: Aaron Gilbert, M.A. DeAtley Construction, 509-780-1525, or John Kinnison, Poteet Construction, 406-707-0209 |
MDT also advises motorcyclists to use extra caution because the road surface keeps changing, and to consider another route. The Acantha has repeated the same conditions in its own coverage.
MDT has not said publicly whether traffic will move onto the new bridge and alignment before winter, or whether the detour, pilot cars, and gravel will stay in place through the cold months. The September 25 update says crews are trying to get as much done as possible before winter weather. It also says all activities depend on weather and other unforeseen factors. Mid-November is a target, and early snow could push it back.
Six miles of a longer rebuild
Choteau South is the middle of three segments. MDT says each segment is funded differently, so each one is built on its own schedule.
| Segment | Construction | Contract or estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Choteau North | 2024–2025 | Riverside Contracting, $10,899,320 |
| Choteau South | 2026–2027 | M.A. DeAtley Construction, $17,597,869 |
| Freezout Lake | Expected 2029 | Rough engineer's estimate $15 million |
MDT's FAQ says construction on Choteau North took place in 2024 and 2025. The Choteau South bids came in under MDT's own estimate. DeAtley, based in Clarkston, Washington, won the contract on January 17 at about $17.6 million, while the rough engineer's estimate was $21.9 million. Riverside, which built Choteau North, also bid on this segment at $18,859,998.15. Schelling Construction and CK May Excavating submitted higher bids.
The next segment will be built under tighter limits. Freezout Lake is the roughly six miles just south of Choteau South, where US-89 runs between the old Great Northern Railway bed and the Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area. MDT and the Acantha spell the name differently: MDT writes Freezeout, and the Acantha notes that the usual local spelling drops the "e." MDT's public involvement page says that segment's planned shoulders are 4 feet wide, a foot narrower than Choteau South's. The railroad on the east and the wetlands on the west leave no more room, and any tourist signs and pullouts have to be coordinated with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The Acantha reported that MDT and FWP were still discussing pullouts and access points along the management area.
Here is what's left on the six miles south of town:
- This fall: barrier rail on the new bridge, bridge end sections, roadway approaches, side-slope shaping, and the first lift of asphalt working south, with a preliminary mid-November completion target.
- 2027: chipseal in the summer, with reseeding also scheduled for that year.
- 2029: construction expected to begin on the Freezout Lake segment.
You can get MDT's construction updates by text: send "Choteau" to 844-764-2126. You can also email [email protected], or use MDT's online comment form with project UPN 8965000.
A new road line changes a few things along the way, including where approaches meet the highway and which way a field or front porch now faces. When those details matter to a property on the Front, the team at The Front Agency knows this stretch from driving it. Meet Our Team, and we'll talk through what the new US-89 means for a place you're considering.
