One lane of U.S. 50 on the Middle Bridge over Blue Mesa Reservoir could be open for intermittent traffic by July 4 if four “critical repairs” can be completed by then, state transportation director Shoshana Lew said Tuesday evening.
The repairs include using 2½-inch thick steel plates that are 30-inches wide and 27-feet long to reinforce defects in welds made when the bridge was assembled starting in April 1961.
Reopening the bridge could coincide with completion of CDOT’s Little Blue Canyon project between Montrose and Blue Mesa Reservoir. Widening, straightening and rock scaling on U.S. 50 in that area has been going on for more than three years and has required multiple closures and delays with single lane traffic
When traffic is allowed on Middle Bridge again, it will flow in one direction for a certain period of time and then flow in the other direction, possibly guided by pilot cars or flaggers. However, travel will be limited because repair work cannot be done while vehicles are driving on the bridge.
Engineers have found a total of 183 defects in welds during an intense assessment that began after the 1,500-foot-long bridge was shut down April 18 when a 3-inch crack and other anomalies were discovered during a safety inspection of high-strength steel bridges required by the Federal Highway Administration.
Not all of the defects detected using sophisticated ultrasound equipment are considered critical. Older technologies could not identify the problems, CDOT engineers said during a routine update held in Gunnison.
The plan is to have Middle Bridge open to traffic in both directions by Halloween. Keith Stefanik, CDOT’s chief engineer, said the agency will develop a long-term replacement plan for Middle Bridge, though it may not be needed for another 25 years.
CDOT also is preparing to begin inspecting the 900-foot-long West Bridge, about 2 miles to the west, which is made from the same steel. Traffic will be running in one direction on that bridge during the inspection.
Since the abrupt shutdown of the bridge, travel between Montrose and Gunnison has been detoured over County Road 26, a gravel road that crosses federal land. More traffic is being allowed on the primitive road and now there are seven “release” times when drivers cue up on either side of the detour, waiting to follow pilot cars that drive in one direction only.
The detour is an alternative to long drives around Blue Mesa, which can add six to seven hours of travel to a journey that typically takes just over an hour.
Locals had hoped that Kebler Pass, a short cut between Crested Butte and Delta County, would be open for Memorial Day weekend. However two snowstorms stalled the plan to clear the 30 mile road that is only partly paved and tops out at 10,007 feet.