Eastern Plains Timber Bridge Replacement Newsletter - May 30, 2023

An extended weekend full closure of U.S. Highway 34 between County Road MM and CR PP between Platner and the Town of Otis is necessary from 12 p.m. Friday, June 2, through 12 p.m. on Monday, June 5, while an old highway bridge is demolished and replaced. This work is weather-dependent, and the schedule is subject to change.

The Colorado Department of Transportation and Lawrence Construction have started another timber bridge replacement project on US34 (Mile Point 206.50) approximately three miles west of Colorado Highway 61/Dade Street. Construction activities and the weekend closure are similar to recent work performed between the Town of Akron and Platner.

Two signed detour routes will be provided during the weekend closure. US 34 through-traffic and commercial vehicles will detour north to Interstate 76 between CO 63 in the Town of Akron and CO 61 in Otis. The secondary detour route, which is intended for local traffic only, will direct traffic around the work zone on gravel roads. The westbound US 34 detour will send traffic north on CR PP, west on CR 42, and south on CR MM. The eastbound US 34 detour will direct traffic north on CR MM, east on CR 41, and south on CR PP.

Drivers should expect daily lane closures with flaggers alternating traffic, Monday through Friday. A vehicle width restriction is in place from MP 198 to 207. No loads over 12 feet wide are permitted through August 31, 2023.

The US 34 bridge between Platner and Otis is the seventh of ten timber bridges throughout the region to be replaced. The project is in the middle of the second phase, which replaces two US 34 bridges in Washington County between Akron and Otis in addition to a US 6 bridge in Morgan County that was replaced last year.