The US 50 bridge over the Blue Mesa Reservoir, a major corridor in western Colorado, will reopen to all traffic starting Oct. 16, state transportation officials announced Friday.
One lane on the bridge is open 24 hours a day. The final reconstruction work, required before return traffic resumes, will be carried out at night between 11:30 PM and 6:00 AM. Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Stacia Sellers said. Travelers arriving late at night can expect delays, she said. Pilotage takes place over the bridge in every direction.
Travel across this bridge has been disrupted since April, when state and federal transportation inspectors discovered problems, including a crack in a steel girder near the center of the bridge. Repair work also included the Lake Fork Bridge on US 50, which was built in the early 1960s using the same steel and a method that engineers subsequently deemed defective.
Residents of Western Colorado rely heavily on US 50, which connects Gunnison and Montrose. Closures along US 50 forced motorists to take detours that added up to a total of seven hours of travel time.
The opening of the bridge next week will end pilot vehicle operations along Gunnison County Road 26, CDOT officials said. That road remains open and could serve as a local alternate route in the coming months, weather conditions permitting, officials said.
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