New US 6 Bridge Ready for Traffic

November 17, 2011 - Northwestern Colorado/CDOT Region 3 - The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is moving forward on the second phase of the US 6/Eagle River Bridge replacement project located one mile east of the roundabout at Eby Creek Road on US 6 in Eagle. Demolition of old bridge to begin November 21.

EAGLE COUNTY — The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is moving forward on the second phase of the US 6/Eagle River Bridge replacement project located one mile east of the roundabout at Eby Creek Road on US 6 in Eagle. Beginning Friday, November 18, a lane shift will occur that will direct traffic from the old bridge to the new one. Motorists can expect intermittent lane closures from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday but delays will be minimal.

As part of the second phase of the project, the old bridge will be demolished starting Monday, November 21 and the process is expected to last three weeks. Although work was tentatively scheduled for Saturdays for the remainder of the month, crews were able to take advantage of favorable weather and work scheduled for Saturday, November 19 and Saturday, November 26 has been canceled.

CDOT would like to remind motorists to obey all road signs and flaggers, and to drive Slow for the Cone Zone. To receive email or text updates about road conditions in the area, visit www.coloradodot.info and click on the green cell phone icon in the upper right hand corner of the page. Motorists can also call the project hotline with questions or comments at 720-626-5470. For more information about winter driving in Colorado, visit http://www.coloradodot.info/travel/winter-driving.

This project was contracted to Colorado-based Concrete Express, Inc. for $ 2.9 million. The existing bridge, built in 1933, is in poor condition and has outlived its useful lifespan. The new bridge will be wider, and will include a third lane to better accommodate turns to and from Nogal Road since the current turn lanes are too short and do not meet current safety standards. Completion of the bridge replacement is scheduled for May 2012.

Replacement of the US 6 Eagle River Bridge is funded through the Colorado Bridge Enterprise (CBE), a government-owned business entity within CDOT that was established as part of the Funding Advancements for Surface Treatment and Economic Recovery (FASTER) legislation. The purpose of the CBE is to complete designated bridge projects that involve the financing, repair, reconstruction, and replacement of bridges designated by CDOT as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, and rated in “poor” condition.

In October, CDOT officially launched a new website to track the status of Colorado’s poor bridges as they are being planned, designed, and constructed through the CBE. Visit http://www.coloradodot.info/programs/BridgeEnterprise for more information.