Structural repairs needed on bridge that Cimarron/I-25 project will replace

Structural repairs needed on bridge that Cimarron/I-25 project will replace

Repair plans are taking shape for the Cimarron Street bridge that goes over Fountain Creek east of I-25, with the two eastbound lanes shifted towards the center lane until work is complete, which is estimated at 30 to 60 days.
“City engineers are working to design a suitable repair that will restore the bridge to full service until it is replaced by end-of-year 2017 as part of the Colorado Department of Transportation's Cimarron/I-25 interchange project,” a city press release states. That project is scheduled to start in 2015.

Structural cracks can be seen on a support holding up a girder on the south side of the Cimarron bridge over Fountain Creek.

Courtesy of Dave Lethbridge

       Discovered last week, the damage is to a support holding up a girder on the south side of the bridge, according to Dave Lethbridge, the city's interim Public Works director. The cracking there was apparently caused by winter freeze/thaw cycles.
       Lethbridge said this week he has received a preliminary repair design confirming that the fix is affordable within the city's emergency bridge repair budget. However, "staff and our engineering consultant are still checking the rest of the bridge to determine if any additional precautionary repairs should be made."
       The bridge is one of two on Cimarron east of I-25. The more easterly of the two -- the larger, higher one that goes over Conejos Street and the railroad tracks -- was replaced about five years ago. That bridge is not slated for replacement in the Cimarron/I-25 interchange project.

Westside Pioneer/press release
(Posted 3/25/14; Transportation: Cimarron/I-25)

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