MONTROSE AND MESA COUNTIES, Colo. — The Colorado Department of Transportation said it needs to reinforce the base of the Mesa Creek Bridge after the agency said crews observed erosion from recent storms.
That created safety concerns for drivers traveling over the bridge and prompted a closure of Colorado State Highway 141 between Gateway and Naturita Monday. Both northbound and southbound lanes were closed for about 24 hours.
CDOT conducted a safety inspection Tuesday morning and reopened the bridge just before noon.
"CDOT engineers and contractor Engineering Operations, LLC (eO) completed inspections earlier this morning and determined the structure is stable and there were no major structural concerns from recent storm runoff," CDOT said.
Drivers will experience some delays over Mesa Creek through next week, according to CDOT, as crews replace rock material at the base of the bridge piers. Speeds will be reduced to 40 mph and single-lane alternating traffic will be in effect.
The recent storms have caused other road closures across the state, including Colorado Highway 82 between Glenwood Springs and Carbondale after a mudslide happened there over the weekend.
Mountains
Highway 82 south of Glenwood Springs reopens Monday after mudslide closed it
A few cars were caught in the slide, but have since been recovered. All the drivers and passengers were physically okay.
Portions of northern Colorado and the Front Range will again be under the threat of localized flash flooding Tuesday afternoon as the Denver metro could see a few strong storms.
A few cars were caught in the slide, but have since been recovered. All the drivers and passengers were physically okay.
