With spring comes construction and maintenance on our roads, and starting Monday, drivers can expect delays when headed north of Hermosa on U.S. Highway 550.
The Colorado Department of Transportation is applying $2 million toward an accelerated bridge-maintenance project from Responsible Acceleration of Maintenance and Partnerships. Construction on various bridges, expected to take place starting Monday, will last through Dec. 15.
“We used to save up until we could afford a whole project, but that money was just sitting in the bank for a few years,” said Nancy Shanks, communications manager for CDOT’s Region 5. “These bridges were a priority for the region; they were engineered and ready to go, the cash was in the bank and we wanted to get this project out the door.”
The money will allow CDOT to conduct bridge-deck repairs, which may include stripping asphalt off down to the concrete bridge; installing a waterproofing sealant over the concrete; replacing or repairing expansion devices, which are metal joints that help the bridge carry the load; and resurfacing and restriping the asphalt road over the bridges.
First up are a bridge on U.S. Highway 550 north of Hermosa at milepost 32.6 and one near Dove Creek on U.S. Highway 491. Work on those bridges is scheduled to be completed sometime around June 1.
On Monday and Tuesday, there may be some alternating traffic on U.S. Highway 160 about 18 miles east of Bayfield as a preliminary environmental evaluation on a bridge over the Piedra River will be taking place. Actual construction on that bridge will not start until the beginning of June.
Other bridges included in the RAMP project include one over the Florida River on Colorado Highway 172 north of Ignacio and two more on U.S. Highway 160, one over Devil Creek about 21 miles east of Bayfield and one over the Los Pinos River on the western edge of Bayfield. Construction on those bridges is not scheduled to begin until later in the year.
