Red Bridge work held up by glitch

Flathead County’s application for a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to pay for removing the Red Bridge is being held up by a software glitch.

County planning director BJ Grieve recently told the county commissioners that bridges aren’t on the list of project types in the software used to apply for the FEMA grant.

Grieve said county planner Alex Hogle has spoken to people at the software company and left messages for FEMA personnel with no success.

The commissioners last month directed county staff to begin work on a $280,000 grant application to remove the bridge. If approved, the county would have to come up with 25 percent of the project cost, or $93,550. The application deadline is in late March.