Jeff from Aurora writes, “What’s driving you crazy? Someone should probably start looking into the crumbling Manilla Rd, I-70 overpass. I have been watching this deterioration for almost a decade. I am simply concerned for the safety of the vehicles who travel either under or on top of this overpass. It’s pretty scary. I admit that I give my vehicle a little more gas to get through it faster!”
There are many bridges in Colorado that seem like they are about to fall down, but how a structure looks and structural integrity are two different things. I agree with you, Jeff. The supports for the two Interstate 70 bridges over Manilla Road are crumbling. I have seen a lot of rough looking bridges and this might be the worst one yet.
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I saw exposed rebar. You can see what looks like rust and salt stains from I-70 deicer runoff. I saw many small pieces and several large chunks of concrete on the ground that have fallen off the supports above. One of the support pillars has a large crack in it all the way from the ground to the top. Another has exposed rebar from the bottom to the top. It isn’t pretty to say the least. All that said, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and structural engineers assure me both of these bridges are safe to drive on and under, saying they inspect all bridge structures routinely to ensure safety and will addresses any unsafe condition immediately.
There are two separate bridge structures here, one for eastbound I-70, the other for westbound. I looked at the latest publicly available bridge inspection reports published in May 2023. Both show these bridges were constructed in 1960 and reconstructed in 1986. The most disturbing part of the inspection report is that both bridges are listed as “poor.” The substructure for both bridges received a 4 rating, with 10 being best and 0 being failure. That 4 rating puts the bridge in the structurally deficient classification, which means this bridge has significant deterioration in one or more key components of deck, superstructure or substructure. The bridge deck and superstructure are rated as a number 6 or satisfactory…