US50 West of Gunnison, CO Closed

[dlee56]

A very early warning for folks coming in from out of state or just out of town, one of the key bridges over Blue Mesa Reservoir is closed due to some cracks in the girders. Detours can add 6-7 hours at the moment and shorter dirt road detours are being reserved for local commuters only right now. It’s shaping up to be a long ordeal that could last through the hunting season so if you’re normally in this neck of the woods or traveling this way start planning for another route.

https://www.9news.com/article/news/...ridge/73-aae78ffc-d6d5-4e39-bd36-4f830bfdbf7e

 

[11boo]

Good call. I’ll bet it’s going to be a long closure. They found more cracks in the steel .

As of 4-27 they are moving equipment in to do a more detailed inspection of the steel supports. I bet they fix it before September.

There’s kids riding a boat from the marina side over to the bus stop.

 

[Crusader]

Good call. I’ll bet it’s going to be a long closure. They found more cracks in the steel .

As of 4-27 they are moving equipment in to do a more detailed inspection of the steel supports. I bet they fix it before September.

There’s kids riding a boat from the marina side over to the bus stop.

I hope you're right, I'm planning on being on that around October 1st.....

 

[11boo]

Be interesting if they don’t have it open by hunt seasons, would they let hunters use the “limited use” detour. I wouldn’t count on it.

 

[Wrench]

I welded up some bridges on I90 around superior Montana years ago. That was a fun job. 3 guys standing over my shoulder the whole time.

 

[11boo]

I welded up some bridges on I90 around superior Montana years ago. That was a fun job. 3 guys standing over my shoulder the whole time.

There are some definite cracks that look fixable on that bridge. I would hope they can repair it then figure out if they need a new one.

 

[Wrench]

The job I got called in on was a contractor who was hired to cut the deck....but cut clear through the top chord of the girders.

State inspector, federal inspector, contractor insurance and the cwi all on their stop watches.

Fun time$.

 

[dlee56]

The issue is that welds weren’t inspected back when this bridge was build (1964ish) and so there’s issues in the welds themselves. They have to abate the coating, inspect each weld, use ultrasonic testing to inspect inside each weld, and weld plates under each crack they find. They’ve found several cracks and they have over 300 welds yet to inspect. Could be a while on the govt clock.