JACKSON, Wyo. — Swinging Bridge opened to visitors on Saturday, Nov. 9, nearly nine months earlier than expected.
Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) Resident Engineer Bob Hammond told Buckrail that Lehman and its subcontractors did a lot of planning and work to get the bridge open quickly.
“They were able to effectively use the flow of the winter to remove both old piers and build two new piers in the same winter instead of over two winters,” Hammond said. he said. “This acceleration allows us to open the bridge now instead of in the summer of 2025.”
In October 2023, it was estimated that Swinging Bridge would be closed until June 30, 2025 for reconstruction. The earlier completion date means local residents will no longer have to make the extra commute by car south on U.S. Route 26/89/189/191 to Henry's Road. .
Hammond explained that the Swinging Bridge, a single-lane structure that has been in place since 1960, has never swung on the south side of town. The name comes from the original swing bridge, consisting of a series of connected triangles called trusses, that crossed the Snake River on WY22 in Wilson.
When the Wilson River Bridge was replaced in 1959, three of its five trusses were moved to build a swinging bridge south of Jackson.
“The old bridge was originally built over the Snake River in Wyoming 22 in 1929,” Hammond explained. “Old-timers told me they remember cars waiting on that bridge for traffic to cross before going on WY22. Both sections of the 1929 bridge have been replaced by new bridges.
Hammond said the old swinging bridge had weight and size limitations, so it was removed. The new two-lane bridge is constructed with standard rails that have no load or size restrictions.
WYDOT says some ongoing work is still being completed, such as grouting, cleaning and seed placement under the rails, but this work will not impact the structural integrity of the bridge.
“The bridge and roadway are fully equipped with all the safety supplies needed to open the bridge,” Hammond said.
The Swinging Bridge replacement project was part of WYDOT's Off-System Bridge Replacement (BROS) program. This program is a federally funded program to reduce the number of defective off-system bridges, or “highway bridges located on public right-of-ways” as defined by the Federal Highway Administration. ”
