CO 12 Bridge Replacement

Project Overview

The Colorado Department is replacing two bridge structures between LaVeta and Weston. The bridge over the Cucharas River (milepost 12.95), built in 1962, will be replaced with a box culvert and the bridge over the Purgatoire River (milepost 46.66), built in 1925, with a new structure. American Civil Constructors Inc. is the contractor for this $1.5 million project which is scheduled to begin construction on March 19, 2012 at the Cucharas structure. The project is scheduled for completion in October 2012.

Traffic Impacts
Traffic will be managed at both sites with temporary traffic signals allowing for alternating single lane traffic over the bridge structures.  Holds may last as long as 20 minutes but will more commonly be shorter than 10 minutes.  The signalized lane management will be in place 24 hours per day/seven days a week. Wide load transportation will not be allowed during this time. Load widths are restricted to 12 feet or less over the Purgatoire.

FASTER – Funding Advancements for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery – is fully funding this project.  Financed by vehicle registration fees, FASTER established a Statewide Bridge Enterprise, funding the maintenance and repair of Colorado’s most urgent structurally-deficient and functionally-obsolete bridges.

SH 12 is designated by the Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways Commission as “The Highway of Legends” for its exceptional scenic, historic, cultural, recreational, and natural features.  The Highway joins several towns while traveling a wide arc around the summits of the Spanish Peaks as the path less traveled from Walsenburg to Trinidad.