Roadwork between Silverton and Ouray will close highway 550 during the day for the next two weeks between Silverton and Ouray, near Red Mountain Pass. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald file)

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Roadwork between Silverton and Ouray will close highway 550 during the day for the next two weeks between Silverton and Ouray, near Red Mountain Pass. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald file)

Starting Monday, those traveling on U.S. Highway 550 will encounter weekday road closures at Red Mountain Pass between Silverton and Ouray through Sept. 24.

The specific closure point is between milepost 87 at Crystal Lake and Ironton Park, and milepost 92, just south of Ouray.

Closures allow for helicopter operations and other work associated with a power line reconstruction project by the San Miguel Power Association.

According to the association, the backup power line that serves Ouray County needs to be rebuilt. The rebuild will reduce risk of wildfires, improve electrical reliability and extend the area’s fiber-optic network.

Colorado Department of Transportation suggest to travelers who cannot make it passed the construction before the closures to take alternate westerly routes via U.S. Highway 160 through Mancos, state Highway 145 through Dolores, and state Highway 62 through Telluride and Ridgway.