Girders Installed Tomorrow on US 6 Eagle River Bridge

EAGLE COUNTY – On Tuesday, February 7, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will place bridge girders on the new Eagle River Bridge on US 6, one mile east of the roundabout at Eby Creek Road.

From 9:30 a.m. to noon, motorists can expect a 30 minute delay and alternate routes are strongly advised. Traffic will be alternated through one lane of the bridge for most of the work, except when the girders directly under the roadway are installed, which will require a full highway closure. There are no size/weight restrictions at this time and work is expected to last one day. CDOT would like to remind motorists to obey all road signs and flaggers, and to drive Slow for the Cone Zone.

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.

On October 2011 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.

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