DENVER (KDVR) — After months of construction, one lane of the U.S. Highway 50 bridge over Blue Mesa Reservoir will be open 24/7 to all legal loads beginning Oct. 16 thanks to “significant progress on major structural repairs” on the middle bridge, CDOT reported.
The bridge was built in 1963 and is located west of Gunnison near Dillon Pinnacles. Investigators found “anomalies” and a defect at milepost 136.3, causing the bridge to be closed for inspection and repairs as of April 18. The road reopened partially to some traffic on July 4, as officials allowed only emergency and smaller vehicles over the bridge, which was open for 12 hours daily.
The roadway closures caused significant traffic headaches for motorists who use the route. Officials recommended that drivers detour north to Interstate 70 or U.S. 160 to the south — either a trip of 354 miles to the north or about 331 miles for the southern route.
However, that won’t be necessary now. The bridge will be open in a “single lane configuration” beginning Wednesday, Oct. 16, for 24 hours a day seven days a week. The Colorado Department of Transportation is using this as a pilot program, with construction to continue overnight from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.
However, CDOT says the remaining construction activity will prepare the bridge for its normal, two-way traffic with both lanes open to drivers before winter.
Late-night travelers can continue to expect longer wait times at the bridge, “similar to what they have been encountering at the Lake Fork Bridge.” The Lake Fork Bridge is a few miles west on U.S. 50 toward Montrose and has been subject to extended flagging operations during overnight construction.
Traffic over the Blue Mesa Middle Bridge will continue to be one direction at a time, and heavier vehicles – such as semitrucks, charter buses and class A motorhomes – will be sent over the bridge one at a time while the temporary work deck is removed from below the structure. That means motorists should continue to plan for delays.
Opening the bridge to all vehicles ends the pilot car operations on County Road 26. The road is still open for travel and can continue to be used as a local alternate route as long as weather conditions allow. CDOT also used the Kebler Pass as a seasonal alternate route. However, vehicles for that roadway must be less than 30,000 pounds, less than 50 feet long and carry no hazardous materials.
