Trucking delivery charges could rise if the repair of a bridge damaged by a fiery semi crash leads to a long-term closure of Interstate 70 in Grand Junction.
Permanent repairs of the 26.5 Road bridge will close all westbound lanes on I-70, but the Colorado Department of Transportation hasn’t decided whether it will reroute traffic or merge it onto the eastbound lanes, said spokeswoman Stacey Stegman.
“They’re working on that over the next couple of days,” Stegman said. “We don’t know how we would maintain traffic yet.”
CDOT hasn’t determined how long the repairs will take.
For now, one lane each way is open on I-70.
If traffic is diverted, heavy trucks may be asked to avoid the downtown area because a number of main streets are torn up and closed for installation of new roundabouts and the construction of a major byway. That would force truckers to take a long detour to another interstate.
“If we can’t travel I-70 and if we have to travel down through Albuquerque on I-40, it increases 120 miles on your travel,” said John Eisenman, owner of Greeley-based Eisenman Transportation Services. “Or if you go northbound to I-80, it’s about the same amount of distance.”
He said the detours would add $300 in costs per trip.
“The customers will be paying for that,” said Eisenman, whose trucks transport consumer goods and construction materials.
Early Wednesday, a semi ran off the right side of westbound I-70 at the 26.5 Road bridge when the driver apparently fell asleep. The semi ripped apart the north-side concrete pillar of the bridge, which goes over I-70.
“There’s a lot of traffic that runs along that area,” Eisenman said.
The bridge, which is being held up temporarily with steel supports, is still closed. As many as 19,000 vehicles a day travel across I-70 along the north side of Grand Junction.
“It’s had a minimal impact for us probably because we’re familiar with the area and making the detour (Wednesday) just made us a little bit late,” said Michele Bisbee, general manager of Grand Junction-based moving and storage firm Mesa Systems.
Bisbee said the “impact might be much greater” for out-of- state companies.
“If you’re coming in from California with consumer goods for grocery (stores), that’s going to affect the bottom line of the groceries,” Eisenman said.
Staff writer Andy Vuong can be reached at 303-954-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com.
