Crumbling retaininer walls worry Missoula residents

1 hour 6 minutes ago by Jacqueline Quynh - KPAX News

Every spring we watch the rivers around Missoula rise - and for some of us homeowners we're watching how close water is getting to our backyards.

Sometimes the only thing stopping a rush of mud and water is a wall... So what if that retaining wall fails?

Nate Williams rents an apartment next to Rattlesnake Creek.

"It's a very clean water stream," said Nate Williams, who lives near the creek.

He likes the location for it's access to fly fishing, but the creek can also get very fast, and very high during the spring -- making it at times a threat.

"I have seen the river come up within 8 inches of the support beam," said Williams.

In some places the only thing to stop the water is a retaining wall. And in one area, underneath the bridge on East Front Street in Missoula, the retaining wall is badly deteriorating.

"Trees have grown up and broken loose the concrete," said Williams.

"You can tell how old this bridge is because this plaque here tells us it was built in 1932 but not the case for the retaining walls and structures below it."

Original post:
Crumbling retaininer walls worry Missoula residents