Assessing bridge safety, repairs, replacement, funding in southern Colorado

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The recent closure of the Blue Mesa Bridge on US 50 near Gunnison, left many of us wondering how safe our bridges are to drive on.

Investigators with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) determined that cracks and other safety issues that developed were caused not by how the bridge was built, but by certain materials used in construction.

KRDO 13 has done extensive research on bridges and the results may surprise you.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, 111 bridges in southern Colorado are rated in poor condition; that includes 34 in more-populated El Paso and Pueblo counties, and 49 in rural Las Animas and Otero counties.

Local officials said that they're doing their best to address the worst bridges, and that drivers shouldn't worry about them being unsafe.

"If a bridge was unsafe, we'd close it immediately -- as we did with Blue Mesa," said CDOT spokesperson Amber Shipley. "We drive on those bridges, too. So do our loved ones. We want to keep everyone safe."

CDOT, and other local engineers, said that the high cost of bridge projects limits how quickly they can be repaired or replaced; the agency inspects state and many local bridges every two years and prioritizes repair and replacement projects.

For example, Colorado Springs is halfway finished with a two-year project to replace four bridges on South Circle Drive, at a cost of $40 million; the bridges were built in 1963 and are among 12 city bridges rated in poor condition.

That project is funded by the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority, a separate funding source unavailable to many other communities.

KRDO 13's The Road Warrior has heard from many viewers about the Highway 85/87 bridge over Interstate 25, just south of Colorado Springs; it was built in 1956 and viewers say that it should be replaced because it looks old, rusty and even crumbles to the touch in some places.

However, CDOT said that it has no plans to replace the bridge -- although the agency will consider improvements to increase pedestrian safety there.

City, county and state engineers emphasize that a bridge can look bad but still be structurally sound and safe to drive on.

By the same token, a bridge that looks good can still be in poor condition.

That was the case in 2007 when the Cimarron Street bridge over the railroad tracks in Colorado Springs suddenly closed in 2007.

The Road Warrior asked Gayle Sturdivant, the city's deputy public works director, about the conditions that led to closing the bridge and how the safety issues weren't discovered during an inspection.

"There was actually some damage to the pier cap below the bridge," she explained. "It could have failed at some point if we didn't address it. Once (crews) made that repair, that temporary maintenance project, then they opened it back up for traffic until it could be replaced. They redid the whole bridge and the whole substructure on the bridge, as well. So, that bridge was totally replaced in 2017."

Two months ago, the city demolished a nearly century-old bridge on El Paso Street, across Platte Avenue, after pieces of concrete began falling onto traffic below.

But that bridge had been closed for three years after a semi truck hit it, and city officials tried to determine if they could repair it, before finally tearing it down.

CDOT had a bridge issue of its own this spring, a month before the Blue Mesa bridge situation; it involved the Greenhorn Creek bridge on southbound I-25 near the Pueblo/Huerfano county line.

KRDO 13 obtained documents through the Colorado Open Records Act, in which a CDOT engineer scolded a maintenance crew in May for leaving pothole repairs on the bridge unfinished for several days.

The email from engineer Jennifer Sparks, reads as follows: "Why we are allowing it to be in this condition open to interstate traffic? The plans and specs clearly do not allow leaving the bridge deck in this condition and open to traffic?"

A later email from another supervisor stated: "Exposed rebar and potholes in the concrete of the bridge deck are not acceptable."

Sparks explained the situation in an interview with The Road Warrior, saying that it was somewhat blown out of proportion and CDOT had a crew working on the bridge a day or two after drivers complained about it.

"At the end of the day, we have to open up that lane closure to traffic," she said. "So, they patched that area with a cold mix asphalt. And, over the course of, maybe it was a weekend -- I can't remember the dates of this -- the cold mix asphalt popped out of that patch. That happens sometimes in cold, wet weather."

CDOT inspects state and many local bridges every two years and says that even with a bridge in poor condition, crews can repair it to maintain it until there's enough money to replace it.

But it can take years to acquire the necessary funding.

In the past two years, CDOT has made significant progress in replacing poor bridges in rural areas; the agency spent $43 million to replace 17 bridges in southern Colorado alone.

Additionally, CDOT said that 21 of the 37 worst bridges in southern Colorado have either been repaired or replaced, currently are in that process or will be soon.

This week, The Road Warrior will report on bridges in Pueblo, Fountain and Manitou Springs, and speak with CDOT and a state lawmaker about acquiring funding for bridges.