31st Street bridge in Colorado Springs draws pothole complaints

Even after four years of expanded street paving in Colorado Springs, potholes remain a concern.

An unidentified viewer contacted KRDO NewsChannel 13 to voice concerns about the poor condition of the 31st Street bridge between U.S. 24 (Cimarron Street) and Colorado Avenue on the city’s west side.

“The structural integrity of the bridge is failing,” the viewer said in an email sent Friday morning. “You can see rebar in the potholes.”

The viewer also questioned the quality of materials used in repairing potholes and wants crews to keep detailed information on potholes to track their repair history.

The bridge is the responsibility of the Colorado Department of Transportation. CDOT has not revealed whether the bridge will be among several to be upgraded as part of a repaving project along U.S 24.

That project begins next week. The bridge is better known for the frequency of homeless people living under it, evictions and cleanups by authorities and occasional flooding from Fountain Creek below, particularly during a hailstorm last summer.

Many drivers use the bridge as a shortcut between the highway and Manitou Springs, Old Colorado City and Garden of the Gods.

Some drivers said they’d gladly detour around the bridge if other nearby routes weren’t already congested with traffic because of other road projects.

The bridge was built in 1963.