BUENA VISTA, Colo.—State highway crews repaired a bridge over the Arkansas River on Wednesday after a fracture was discovered during an inspection prompted by the Minneapolis bridge collapse.
The fracture was found Tuesday in the structure on U.S. 24 about 80 miles southwest of Denver. The southbound lane was closed but reopened Wednesday evening after the repair was complete.
Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Stacey Stegman said the bridge was not in immediate danger of collapsing, but the “way we’re all treating bridges now, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
The bridge was one of six in the state given special inspections at the urging of federal officials after the Aug. 1 bridge collapse in Minneapolis. All had structural similarities to the Minneapolis bridge.
Colorado bridges are inspected every two years. It was not clear when the next regular inspection was scheduled for the U.S. 24 bridge.
The fracture was in a part known as an angle connector. Stegman said crews welded the fracture as a temporary repair until the angle connector or the entire bridge could be replaced.
There is no timetable for the bridge to replaced, she said.
