The Bozeman Daily Bee

Construction

I-90 Bridge Closed Until April; Locals on East Side Develop Entire Alternate Civilization

By Bee Staff Report January 27, 2026

The Bear Canyon bridge on Interstate 90, closed since last Wednesday after a semi hauling an excavator collided with the overpass, will reportedly remain impassable until April, according to the Montana Department of Transportation.

In the six days since the closure, residents east of the bridge have already formed a provisional government, elected a council of elders, and begun minting their own currency backed by the “elk standard.”

“We’ve been cut off from civilization for nearly a week now,” said Harold Dimsworth, a retired plumber from the Bridger Creek area who has assumed the title of Trade Minister. “We’ve rationed the propane. We’re down to our last 14 cases of Busch Light. If the bridge isn’t fixed soon, we’ll have to start drinking IPAs, and nobody wants that.”

BEE INVESTIGATION: Where Do All the Orange Cones on North 7th Go in Winter?

By Bee Staff Report January 23, 2026

For eight months of the year, North 7th Avenue is a pulsating artery of orange traffic cones, lane closures, and the quiet, simmering rage of 14,000 daily commuters. Then, sometime around November, the cones vanish — and nobody knows where they go.

The Bozeman Daily Bee spent three weeks investigating.

“We don’t track individual cones,” said Bozeman Public Works spokesperson Carl Redmond when reached for comment. When pressed on whether the city tracks cones collectively, Redmond paused for eleven seconds before saying, “I’m going to transfer you.”