US 24 Bridge Replacement Gets Underway Next Week
LINCOLN COUNTY – The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) begins a project next week to replace a 77-year-old bridge over a dry stream bed on U.S. 24, about ½ mile east of Limon.
Beginning on Wednesday, May 4, U.S. 24 will be closed to through traffic, between exits 361 and 363 on Interstate 70. Local traffic still will be able to use the highway east and west of the bridge but will need to use I-70 as the detour.
In addition to removing the old structure and new bridge construction, the project includes new asphalt pavement for the bridge approaches, guardrails, seeding, and striping.
Work is scheduled for completion in August 2011.
“That bridge was built in 1934, is rated in poor condition and needs to be replaced” said CDOT Resident Engineer Travis Miller. “The new structure is designed to last at least 75 years so it’s a long-term improvement to the state’s highway system. Safety also will be enhanced since the new bridge will have wider shoulders, eliminating what’s currently a narrow section of roadway.”
Jalisco International Inc. of Commerce City, Colo. is the project’s prime contractor.
Federal bridge funds provided $800,000 of the $835,000 contract amount. The remaining $35,000 is funded through the Statewide Bridge Enterprise, a government-owned business entity within CDOT. Created as part of the FASTER (Funding Advancements for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery) legislation, its goal is to help finance, repair, reconstruct or replace any bridge designated as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, and rated “poor” by CDOT. Additional information is available at: www.coloradodot.info/projects/faster.
Updated information regarding traffic impacts on this or other CDOT projects is available at www.coloradodot.info/travel/scheduled-lane-closures.html or by calling 511. To receive project updates via e-mail, visit www.coloradodot.info and click on the cell-phone icon in the upper right-hand corner. The link takes you to a list of items you can subscribe to, including Southeast Colorado.
