Established a bit later than most other towns in the region, Pablo came to life in 1917, with the coming of a branch line of the Northern Pacific Railway. Its location in an agricultural area is betrayed by the presence of a pair of grain elevators which still stand. Both now graffiti covered, they appear to have fallen into disuse. The other two most noticeable structures in the town would be the town water tower and the pedestrian bridge.
The bridge, a very long steel truss bridge, spans the four lane divided Highway 93 at the south end of the
Salish Kootenai College, a tribal college with an enrollment of about 1,200 located on the Flathead Indian Reservation, as is Pablo itself. While the college is at the east end of the bridge, the headquarters of the
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation is off the west end.
Officially opened in July of 2011, the $3.2 million bridge was built in a single span of 265 feet in length, supported by stone faced concrete piers, with a pair of 60 foot tall steel tipi structures at each end. Owned by the Montana Department of Transportation, the bridge was designed by MacArthur Means and Wells Architects of Missoula engineered by HDR Engineering, Inc. of Missoula, Mont. and constructed by Quality Construction of Missoula.
Following is a little article The Missoulian ran to mark the opening of the bridge.
Pablo walking bridge offers safe passage,
‘connection to community'
By VINCE DEVLIN of the Missoulian Jul 27, 2011
PABLO - When the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes contacted the Montana Department of Transportation about putting a pedestrian and bicycle crossing over the top of U.S. Highway 93 here, Doug Moeller says his department came back with a design they thought would work well.
It was, Moeller said, roundly rejected by the Tribal Council. "They said it was ugly, it was institutional, it doesn't lay with the land," Moeller, district administrator for MDT, recalled.
What they got instead - a 265-foot-long bridge with beautiful rockwork, landscaping and four tepee-shaped structures that support the ramps leading to it - was officially opened to foot and bike traffic Wednesday.
Moeller called it one of the best pedestrian overpass projects MDT has even been involved with.
The overpass connects Salish Kootenai College on the east side of the highway with CSKT headquarters on the west, and provides a safe alternative to crossing the often busy highway that sits 17 1/2 feet below it.
"At first it was going to be a simple walkway, a cheap type of thing," tribal chairman E.T. "Bud" Moran said, "but we decided we wanted a walkway to be proud of."
The $3.2 million overpass was paid for with federal stimulus funds, from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Quality Construction of Missoula built the bridge. According to the tribes, the project involved 11 subcontractors and 122 people who worked on it at various times.
The total payroll for construction employees was $538,000, and the average hourly wage for those who labored on its construction over 18,630 man-hours was $28.90 per hour.
From The Missoulian