Repairs finally expected soon on deteriorating 31st Street bridge in west Colorado Springs
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A road and traffic safety issue that drivers have regularly complained about for three years should be resolved soon.
The Colorado Department of Transportation confirmed Tuesday that repairs will start and finish in September on the 31st Street bridge between U.S. 24 (Cimarron Street) and West Colorado Avenue.
KRDO NewsChannel 13 first reported in June 2019 about public concerns regarding the crumbling, nearly 60-year-old bridge, where potholes regularly develop and driving is bumpy.
CDOT said that the repair work will require closing the bridge for an entire week, and that the agency will provide advance notice of the closure and recommended detours later this summer.
Most of the work, however, will be done at night to reduce impacts to traffic and neighboring businesses, CDOT said.
The agency initially planned to repair the bridge as part of a repaving project along U.S. 24 that started in June 2019, but funding ran short as CDOT also was working on the Interstate 25 "Gap" Project between Monument and Castle Rock, and trying to secure funding for the current overpass project at Powers Boulevard (Highway 21) .
The area underneath and around the bridge is a popular site for homeless camps.
The 31st Street project is part of a three-phased plan to perform needed maintenance on local bridges; CDOT recently completed work on I-25 above Tejon Street and Nevada Avenue; next week, repairs begin on the railroad bridge on Highway 16, above Highway 85/87.
The latter project is scheduled to continue through the end of August, requiring lane closures, but much of the work will be done between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. when traffic is reduced.
CDOT said that similar repairs will be conducted at each bridge, including installing new concrete paving and waterproofing to extend the life of the bridges by several years.
All three bridge maintenance projects will cost a total of $4.5 million, the agency said.
Neighbors, drivers and nearby merchants who spoke with KRDO NewsChannel 13 about the project Tuesday said that they're glad to hear it's coming, and understand that the weeklong closing is necessary.
