CDOT bridge repairs to close lanes across southeast Colorado counties

Drivers on US 50 and other southeast Colorado corridors will start seeing lane closures April 27 as CDOT begins a $1.08 million bridge rehabilitation project that reaches into Las Animas County and four neighboring counties.

For Las Animas County motorists, the immediate concern is not one bridge but a network of scattered work sites along routes that carry commuters, freight, school traffic and emergency vehicles. CDOT said the project stretches across 13 mile points in Pueblo, Custer, Otero, Las Animas and Huerfano counties, with work affecting US 50, US 350, Colorado Highway 10, CO 69, CO 96, CO 165 and CO 202. A separate CDOT archive also shows a US 50 bridge repair just north of Las Animas at mile point 399.8, later described as extending from mile point 399.85 to 401.69, a reminder that local drivers have already been navigating bridge work close to town.

The work is a structural rehab, not a surface patch. CDOT said crews from TLM Constructors will add steel sister beams to existing timber girders to strengthen the bridges and extend their service life. Southeast Region Transportation Director Shane Ferguson said the reinforcement will extend the lifespan of each bridge and help ensure safety for years to come.

Beginning April 27, motorists should expect single-lane closures, shoulder closures, narrowed lanes, an 11-foot width restriction, reduced speeds in work zones and daylight work Monday through Friday. For ranch traffic, commercial haulers and oversized loads moving through Las Animas County, that means slower trips and a tighter margin for passing through the region’s rural road network.

CDOT’s project page lists the timber bridge repair work from April 2026 through October 2026, signaling a long construction season rather than a short interruption. The agency also urges drivers to use COtrip tools and to be ready for weather-related changes, especially on routes that may shift from one work zone to another as crews move between bridge sites.

This project follows a 2024 timber bridge effort in southeast Colorado that covered 15 bridges in Baca, Bent, Las Animas and Prowers counties and used the same steel sister beam method on damaged timber girders. CDOT also completed a larger Southeastern Colorado Bridge Bundle in June 2024, replacing 17 structurally deficient structures on rural corridors that support mobility, commerce, agricultural shipments and access to tourist destinations. Together, the projects show how heavily Las Animas County still depends on the bridges that tie southeast Colorado together.