The 27th Street Bridge will remain closed through the weekend and into next week project, officials say.
The bridge closure, which went into effect Wednesday evening to facilitate concrete pouring and curing, was originally scheduled to conclude Monday.
That’s no longer the case.
“It does look like we’re going to have a delayed opening,” Bryana Starbuck, 27th Street Bridge Project public information manager, said.
The arrival of winter weather Thursday morning – earlier than project officials had anticipated – prevented the necessary concrete trucks from arriving.
“When we started the work we had a different forecast than we’re having now,” Starbuck said. “We’ll know more [Friday], once we know if we’re going to be able to get a new concrete delivery.”
The original plan was to lay concrete ahead of the winter weather, blanket it and let it cure before Monday’s rush hour commute. However, Thursday’s snow coupled with icy roads made the trek for concrete trucks too dangerous according to Assistant City Engineer Jessica Bowser.
“I think our crews would still be working if we could get concrete,” Bowser said.
A reopening date for the 27th Street Bridge was not available Thursday.
The pedestrian bridge at 27th Street will also remain closed in conjunction with the 27th Street Bridge.
The ongoing closure comes on the heels of a roughly weeklong 27th Street Bridge eastbound lane closure and other delays.
Starbuck called the ongoing closure the last “major traffic impact” associated with the project to replace one of the worst-rated bridges in the state.
Additionally, despite being smaller than many of its counterparts within the city, the roundabout being constructed directly east of the 27th Street Bridge, upon completion, will be able to facilitate 45 ½ foot semi-trailer trucks and buses Bowser said.
“We just did an analysis to double-check that our large ladder truck could make that movement and it can,” Bowser said.
Following the full closure, crews will complete brickwork ahead of landscaping in the spring.
Starbuck said the 27th Street Bridge Project, weather permitting, would see “substantial completion” in January.
The city paid contractor Ralph L. Wadsworth $9.8 million to complete the project’s construction and HDR $1.2 million to oversee the project’s construction management.
Neighborhood woes
Earlier this week some residents voiced frustration over commuters turning off of Midland Avenue at West 13th Street to cut through Riverview Drive before getting back on Midland near West 10th Street.
“It’s a frustrating inconvenience for a lot of us,” Jonathan Godes, Glenwood Springs mayor, said in an interview Tuesday.
Interim Police Chief Bill Kimminau said the department had written a few tickets during the closure, and would continue to have officers stationed in the area.
Eighth Street remains the designated detour route for motorists, and the Old Cardiff Bridge for pedestrians and cyclists.
Stripe, stripe baby
There was also considerable traffic along Grand Avenue on Wednesday evening as CDOT finished striping along Colorado Highway 82 near the 27th Street Bridge.
Due to the inclement weather, CDOT Region 3 Communications Manager Elise Thatcher said crews would complete striping between Alpine Bank and McDonald’s in Glenwood Springs one day next week.
