Starting next week, traffic — including heavier vehicles — will be allowed across a U.S. 50 bridge over the Blue Mesa Reservoir 24 hours, seven days a week, state transportation officials said Friday afternoon.
The update from the Colorado Department of Transportation comes as crews were making “significant progress” on major structural repairs to the Middle Bridge, which abruptly shut down April 18 after inspectors discovered a 3-inch-long crack along a steel beam.
A pilot car will guide all traffic across a single lane of the bridge starting Wednesday, CDOT said. Crews will continue their final repairs overnight from 11:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. to prepare for two-way traffic to open ahead of winter.
Late-night travelers should expect longer wait times to cross the bridge, the department said.
Heavier vehicles, like semi-trucks, charter buses and motorhomes, will be allowed to cross the bridge one at a time. For that reason, delays crossing the bridge — which is a critical route that connects Montrose, Gunnison and Hinsdale counties — are still likely, CDOT said.
County Road 26, which has served as a detour since the Middle Bridge shut down, can continue to be used as an alternative route as long as weather allows, but pilot cars will no longer guide traffic across the dirt road.