Final phase of US 50 bridge repair work on Colorado's western slope starts on Monday
A bridge in western Colorado that underwent construction last year after emergency repairs were needed has been reopened and now the final phase, which includes painting, will start on Monday.
The Colorado Department of Transportation says the painting operations on two of the U.S. Highway 50 bridges over the Blue Mesa Reservoir in Gunnison County will have "minimal" impacts after the months-long closure last year. The work will take place from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. from Sunday through Friday. Only one lane of travel will be opened during that work and the speed limit will be reduced to 35 mph.
"After the burden of last year's emergency closure, we're pleased to announce that this final phase of work will have only a minimal impact on people traveling US 50 between Montrose and Gunnison," said CDOT Regional Transportation Director Jason Smith. "This last phase of work will bring to a close what was an amazing demonstration of successful coordination between numerous government and contracted agencies in order to tackle and accomplish this significant feat."
Painting on Monday will start on the Middle Bridge and when that's completed, crews will move west to the Lake Fork Bridge.
Officials expect the work will finish by late July.
State officials declared an emergency after cracks were found on the Middle Bridge in April 2024. Limited openings on the bridge for certain vehicles took place throughout the year and CDOT says the repairs were completed and the bridge reopened in December.
U.S. 50 runs east to west from Ocean City, Maryland to Sacremento, California and is 3,019 miles long, 468 of which go through Colorado. Colorado has more miles of the highway than any of the 13 states it runs through.
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