COLORADO SPRINGS — The $ 4 million dollar bridge replacement project in North Cheyenne Cañon is approaching the six month mark. It is also supposed to be nearing completion and a lot of people are asking how long until the road reopens to vehicles.
Crews working on the project said it is a question they are now hearing almost daily. They are cautious with the answer.
The one paved access road to the popular canyon park on the edge of Colorado Springs, closed at the end of September 2021. The work is to replace three bridges that were originally built close to a century back. Supports for the bridge surface were old railroad ties. A closer look at one of the ties shows the date 1912. They are old, rusted and not structurally sound for the weight of large vehicles, like fire trucks.
The replacement bridges will comeback with modern materials, yet looking very similar to the old structures. Stonework from the original bridges was salvaged. “The bridges were a contributing element to the historic nature of the park, said City of Colorado Springs, Senior Engineer, Aaron Egbert, “So, we’re really trying to embrace that. Come up with some natural stone on the bridge rail so they look as close to historic as they can.”
Working in the narrow canyon has made the build difficult. “It’s been more challenging than we expected,” said Egbert. Some of the issues, like difficulty getting girders to the upper most bridge, are because of the terrain. Others are unanticipated outside factors. “There have been some supply chain issues, some labor issues, temperature issues where we had some weather.”
Egbert said, “We’re trying to get it open as soon as we can.” May 2022 was the original estimate for allowing vehicles back on the road. The estimate is now more cautious. It points in general toward early or mid summer.
