DENVER (KDVR) — The Colorado Department of Transportation anticipates being able to meet its goal of partially reopening the U.S. 50 Blue Mesa middle bridge ahead of the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
The news was released Thursday, only a week before the nation’s birthday but months after the April 18 closure. The agency said the first phase of repairs for the cracked steel has been completed.
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Emergency and smaller vehicles will be allowed to start crossing the bridge over Blue Mesa Reservoir at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 3.
That means passenger vehicles, pickup trucks, vans, motorcycles and emergency vehicles are approved to cross the bridge. CDOT will require larger vehicles, including RVs and campers, motorhomes, trucks pulling trailers, semitrailers and buses to take the County Road 26 detour.
“We continue to work towards completing needed repairs ahead of winter,” said CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew in the reopening announcement. “Over the course of the holiday weekend, the bridge will be open for 12 hours a day, which we hope encourages tourism in this area as these communities are still very much open for business. Starting on July 8, we will settle into a twice-a-day opening schedule to allow crews to continue to work on repairs throughout the day.”