CDOT repairing 21 timber bridges this summer on highways in Pikes Peak Region
Scott Harrison
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — As the county gradually replaces nine timber (wooden) bridges that are around 75 years old, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is doing repair work to keep its timber bridges in use for a longer period.
A current CDOT project is rehabbing 21 timber bridges along highways 9, 24, and 67 in El Paso, Teller, and Park counties.
CDOT is spending $1.8 million to reinforce the timber supports under the bridges with steel beams; the agency said that the work will extend the use of the bridges by 30 years and save the high cost of replacing those structures.
Patti Henschen, a CDOT engineer, said that the bridges were built between the 1930s and 1960s; Calhan in eastern El Paso County has one of the largest and oldest bridges, built in 1935.
“A lot of these have not had any type of repair.,” she said. “This is the first repair that we’re doing for them. Some of them have had some minor repairs done to them over the years, but not significant like this.”
Eleven of the 21 timber bridges are in eastern El Paso County, between Peyton and Ramah, near the El Paso/Elbert county line.
The project began on the eastern end and will gradually move west, with work expected to continue through the fall.
Henschen said that a future project will repair 22 more timber bridges south of the current project area.
For the project this summer, crews will conduct traffic control during the bridge work to provide added safety.
Some drivers say that while they’re glad to see the project happen, they’d rather that CDOT repave US 24 through Calhan; the agency said that a project to repave the highway through Calhan and Peyton is scheduled for next summer.