Tuesday evening's flash flood forced closure of this Colorado Highway 67 bridge four miles south of Florence
A cloud burst that dumped an estimated three inches or more of rain in a 30 minute period Tuesday evening resulted in a flash flood that heavily damaged a bridge four miles south of Florence which forced the closure of Colorado Highway 67. Fremont County Emergency Management Director Steve Morrisey said the storm hit around 6:00 p.m. and was concentrated in an area on the edge of U.S. Forest Service lands between Newlin Creek and Mineral Creek drainages.
The Colorado Department of Transportation reported that water was flowing over the bridge which may have contributed to the structure sinking about five feet below the road surface. The bridge, built in 1952, carried an estimated 1,300 vehicles daily. CDOT engineers were on scene Wednesday morning and indicated it would take about six weeks to make permanent repairs. In the meantime CDOT was hopeful that a temporary detour through the ravine and pasture on the west side of the highway could be in place in about one week to allow the highway to reopen during bridge reconstruction. CDOT advised that highway traffic should detour to the north across U.S. Highway 50 and to the south across Colorado Highway 96 through Pueblo.
Fremont County Department of Transportation Director Tony Adamic said he expects a lot of local traffic to travel over County Road 19, a portion of it known as Siloam Road to avoid the longer detours. Adamic said that due to heavier traffic on CR 19 in the next couple of weeks, the county was posting length and load limits to prevent extensive damage to a county bridge and the road itself.
Adamic said County Road 103, which is west of Highway 67 and runs south towards the edge of Forest Service land, also sustained considerable damage from the flash flood. Adamic said county crews were working to make CR 103 passable for the time being. He said reconstruction with new gravel will be required on the road in the weeks to come.
The washout beneath the Highway 67 bridge south of Florence caused the highway surface to buckle an estimated five feet