Pueblo enjoys success in acquiring money to replace old bridges
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Steel City and Home of Heroes will experience a flurry of bridge construction during the next year; possibly more than it's ever had.
Four bridges in town are rated in poor or otherwise low condition: The city-owned Union Avenue bridge on the south end downtown and the LaCrosse bridge near Confluence Park on the city's southeast side; and two bridges owned by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) -- the East US 50 overpass at Interstate 25 and the nearby US 50 bridge over Fountain Creek.
Funding for replacing old bridges is limited and difficult to acquire; but this fall, officials announced that they have received funding for three of the four bridges mentioned above.
Most of the funding ($114 million) will replace a total of five bridges over Fountain Creek and the Union Pacific railroad tracks in the East US 50/I-25 interchange area, as well as repave and realign a section of I-25 there; that project starts this winter and is scheduled for completion in mid-2027.
The remaining $14 million will pay for replacing the Union Avenue bridge that is a century old and was built after the historic 1921 Arkansas River flood; there is no timeline yet for that project.
Andrew Hayes, Pueblo's public works director, said that the bridge remains safe to drive on because of weight restrictions in place and $100,000 the city has spent over the past two years to maintain it.
He adds that other bridges likely will need replacement by the time the current area bridge projects are finished.
"Is it realistic to expect that a city is never going to have a bridge in poor condition? That's a difficult question," Hayes said. "But ultimately, the replacement of those bridges over time is something that we're monitoring to make sure that we have plans in place to get those bridges taken care of before they become safety issues."
Meanwhile, the LaCrosse bridge has yet to acquire replacement funding.
It was formerly part of Highway 227 until the city assumed responsibility for it, years ago; it crosses bottom land where the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek meet.
The reason for its low rating, officials said, is that high water events have critically scoured, or weakened, the bridge pilings; during those periods, officials have to close the bridge as a safety precaution.
"It's not immediately ready to collapse or anything like that," Hayes insists. "But we've got a concept and a scope of work essentially prepared for repairs for the LaCrosse Bridge. There are a couple of opportunities a year that come out where we can apply for bridge funding. Those programs are extremely competitive. Some are federal, some are state. But ultimately we've we've been successful in getting partial grants."
He said that there are two reasons why funding for the Union Avenue bridge didn't arrive before now: The bridge over Main Street, a block to the east, remains in use; and CDOT spent $36 million to replace the 4th Street bridge, a half-mile to the west, in 2011.
