Jackson's New Swinging Bridge Open 9 Months Early, Still Doesn’t Really Swing

After an aggressive construction schedule, the Swinging Bridge over the Snake River on Teton County Road 22-10 is open nine months earlier than anticipated.

The new double-lane bridge, built by the Wyoming Department of Transportation and Teton County, replaced the aging single-lane steel truss bridge that crossed the Snake River south of Jackson.

Completing the $10.3 million project will be a welcome change for residents who’ve been using a detour to get across the river for the last year.

“One of the priorities of our construction crews in that area was to get this done as soon as possible to alleviate that detour for those accessing that area,” said WYDOT District spokesperson Stephanie Harsha. “It is open to traffic a bit earlier than scheduled, and they are quite relieved about it.”

Out With The Old

Teton County’s Swinging Bridge Road was named after an actual swinging bridge, the first to cross that section of the Snake River, which was built in 1938. A single-lane bridge with three metal trusses placed on concrete pillars was built in the same vicinity in 1960.

The trusses came from the original Wilson River Bridge, which opened in 1915. That meant the bridge’s supporting structure was more than 108 years old when it was finally dismantled to make way for the new bridge.

“It’s a recycled bridge that was repurposed,” Bob Hammond, WYDOT’s resident engineer in Jackson, told Cowboy State Daily. “It saw its useful lifecycle and probably a little beyond that.”

Swinging Bridge Road had been closed since October 2023 so the bridge could be removed and replaced. The money came from WYDOT’s Bridge Replacement Off System, which allocates funds to replace or refurbish bridges owned by Wyoming cities, towns and counties on roads that don’t receive federal aid.

Construction on the new bridge began in April, and while it’s open to traffic now, work will continue into 2025.

“It is open to traffic early, but they will continue to do some punch-list items and additional work around the area throughout the rest of the winter and into the spring.”

Over The New

As the Jackson community continues to grow, so has development on the west bank of the Snake River. One of the primary reasons the bridge was replaced was due to the growing number of housing developments on that side of the river.

The new steel and concrete Swinging Bridge has two lanes and a pedestrian pathway on one side. That’s a considerable improvement over the timber deck that spanned the entire single land of the old Swinging Bridge.

It might not be as iconic as the old Swinging Bridge, but Hammond said it’s an overall improvement. In addition to its structural stability and wider span, the new bridge is more accessible than ever. 

“The girders are underneath, so you won’t have any obstruction above ,” he said. “It will be good for viewing the river and everything on it.”

WYDOT covered 90% of the cost for the new Swinging Bridge, with Teton County picking up the remaining 10%. Moving forward, Teton County will be responsible for the bridge’s maintenance and upkeep.

“Generally, our bridge engineers aim for a 70-year lifespan for these bridges,” said Pete Stinchcomb, district construction engineer for WYDOT District 3. “The contractor, Reiman Corp., did a great job, and it went very smoothly with that aggressive schedule.”  

Ain’t Got That Swing

When the old Swinging Bridge was removed, the steel trusses that gave it its iconic look were removed and placed into storage. They might turn up somewhere in Teton County if the county decides to implement them for some other project.

Despite the name, the new “Swinging Bridge” doesn’t swing. The bridge gets its name from Swinging Bridge Road, which got its name from the original 1938 bridge that crossed the Snake River.

The new bridge has no official name other than Teton County Road 22-10 Bridge, making it the Swinging Bridge Road bridge. Despite this, Harsha suspects it will retain its historical title now and forever.

“It’s just a local name that stuck,” she said. “I assume that's because of the original bridge that was there. That’s what the locals have always called it, and I believe that’s what it’ll always be.”

Contact Andrew Rossi at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.