EAGLE COUNTY, Colo. — Starting Friday, a section of Cottonwood Pass Road will close for about 13 weeks to replace bridge over Gypsum Creek.
According to Eagle County, the closure is expected to remain in place until June 30. Traffic will be directed to Daggett Lane and the detour route will be marked.
This closure only applies to the bridge on Cottonwood Pass Road. The actual pass, while currently closed, will reopen in April or May depending on the weather.
Rickie Davies, senior staff engineer for Eagle County, said the Gypsum Creek Bridge, located at 971 Cottonwood Pass Road, is 48 years old.
“The current structure was found to be classified as ‘Structurally Deficient,’ which means there are elements of the structure that need to be monitored, repaired, or replaced," Davies said.
In January, the Federal Highway Administration announced its new Bridge Formula Program, which dedicates $26.5 billion to states for bridge investments, including $225 million to fix hundreds of bridges in Colorado. Those funds for Colorado will help improve the conditions of 481 bridges listed in "poor" condition and to preserve more than 5,000 bridges in "fair" condition, according to the FHWA. You can click here to see a map of all of those bridges.