Orange Street Tunnel in Missoula, Listed!

In 2023, additional documentation regarding the history of the previously National Register-listed Orange Street Underpass was submitted to the National Register. The documentation acknowledges the Montana Department of Transportation’s reclassification of the steel stringer and steel girder underpass structure as a tunnel. The well-known structure with its Art deco flourishes supports two historic warehouses, West Railroad Street, North 1st Street West, and five sets of BNSF tracks.

MISSOULA COUNTY, Orange Street Tunnel, Orange St. between N. 2nd St. W., & W. Alder St., Missoula, AD12000172, ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION APPROVED, 11/22/2023 (Montana's Steel Stringer and Steel Girder Bridges MPS) 

Orange Street Underpass Additional Documentation

The Orange Street Underpass is a steel and concrete structure functioning as a vehicular and pedestrian tunnel for Missoula’s Orange Street traffic, and as an overpass for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad.

The structure is one of several the Montana Highway Department built around the state during the 1930s, but Orange Street is Montana’s largest and most intact example. Its features include arcaded walkways flanking the road, concrete stairs and ramps, original steel handrails, and Art Deco flourishes on its portal faces. The two historic warehouses straddling the railway atop the overpass have been adapted for new uses.