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I-70 bridges to be repaired

Dennis Webb
Glenwood Springs correspondent
Aspen, CO Colorado

PARACHUTE, Colo. ” The Colorado Department of Transportation this month will repair the first of two bridges that were damaged by an over-height truck traveling on Inter­state 70 in June.

Work on the I-70 bridge in Para­chute will begin Dec. 10 and contin­ue through the end of the month, weather permitting.

CDOT plans to repair the other damaged bridge in April. That bridge is 1.5 miles east of Para­chute.



CDOT spokesperson Nancy Shanks said the June 27 incident did not damage the structural integrity of the bridges or affect their safety rat­ings.

The bridges were damaged by a westbound concrete company truck that was pulling a trailer with a track hoe on it, Shanks said. She didn’t know the name of the com­pany.




CDOT plans to pay for the repairs and then seek compensa­tion from the company. The agency has contracted with Restruction Corp. for $ 48,700 for the Parachute bridge work. Work on the other bridge is expected to cost about $ 30,000.

Shanks said the Parachute bridge damage occurred at about the cen­terline of westbound I-70, so the repair work will affect both west­bound lanes of the highway. About three girders out of seven were hit, requiring fixing or replacement of horizontal tension cables and cos­metic concrete repairs.

During this month’s repairs, west­bound traffic will be impacted between mile markers 74.6 and 76, Mondays through Fridays from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The speed limit through the area will be reduced from 75 mph to 45 mph during work­ing hours.

Motorists also can expect some impacts before and after work hours as traffic control is being set up and taken down.