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Board awards contract for bridge project, work to begin this month

Published on January 10, 2024

The detour map for the Weld County Road 54 bridge project.

Bridge 54/13A, located on Weld County Road (WCR) 54 and crossing the Big Thompson River, will undergo reconstruction beginning Jan. 22, 2024. In December, the Weld County Board of Commissioners awarded the contract for the project to Kraemer NA for an amount not to exceed $11,533,491.78. The project is anticipated to be complete by Aug. 30, 2024.

The project centers on enhancing the safety and efficiency of bridge 54/13A. Doing so will also improve the bridge’s condition rating, a statistic that can help it avoid becoming load restricted in the future. Planned improvements include building a new bridge that is 331 feet long and 71 feet wide. The size of the new bridge will allow for future expansion to four lanes. The new bridge will also be 5.5 feet higher than the existing bridge to accommodate floodplain regulations set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“It’s no secret that Weld County is growing, and projects like these are important to ensure our transportation infrastructure continues to meet the needs of the traveling public,” said Kevin Ross, Weld County Commissioner Chair. “We believe these improvements will better accommodate heavy truck traffic as well as additional traffic in the future.”

The project also has support from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA). Early last year, the board entered into an Intergovernmental Agreement with DOLA, accepting a $750,000 Energy and Mineral Assistance Grant toward bridge reconstruction.

“We were excited to receive a DOLA grant last year, and we’re equally excited to begin this project, which we believe will have many benefits with regard to safety and efficiency,” said Curtis Hall, Director of the Weld County Department of Public Works. “We ask for the public’s patience and to utilize the detours as we work on completing this improvement.”

It’s anticipated that WCR 54 will be closed from WCR 13 to WCR 15 beginning Jan. 22 through the end of the project. View project detours on the map or on the Weld County Road Advisory Map.