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Fort Collins Get Ready: Yearlong Mulberry Detour Starts Tuesday

City of Fort Collins

An 18-month construction project to replace the Highway 14 bridge over the Poudre River in Fort Collins may cause traffic headaches. The detour will begin Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.

Work has already begun to replace the bridge, also known as the Mulberry Bridge in Fort Collins, but the yearlong traffic detour it will require has many motorists worried.

The existing 60-year-old Mulberry Bridge will be replaced with one that is wider and will accommodate bicycle lanes and sidewalks. The Colorado Department of Transportation will also construct new retaining walls and storm sewer, as well as reconstruct the east access to the Waste Water Treatment plant.

"It is a gateway to Fort Collins, just given the location. It's a great opportunity to create a nice entrance into the city," said Rick Richter director of infrastructure services for Fort Collins.

The Mulberry Bridge Project was initially going to begin in September 2013, but was delayed by the flooding.

"We're not comfortable that those structures will last another 10 years."

The $9.6 million project is funded through CDOT's Colorado Bridge Enterprise and Longmont-based Flatiron Constructors Inc. is the contractor.

Richter said the City of Fort Collins has done some urban design on the bridge, including upgraded railings and has been designed for the increasing traffic into Fort Collins.

"Eventually Mulberry Road is scheduled to be three lanes each way east of the Poudre River," Richter said.

"At this stage we don't need three lanes but as the traffic grows over time the bridge will be built wide enough to accommodate that eventually," he said.

Credit City of Fort Collins
/
City of Fort Collins

Yearlong Detour

The project requires eastbound traffic to be diverted down Riverside or Lemay until November 2015. The bridge will remain open during construction, but only one way for westbound traffic into the city.

"We've got two different avenues for them to traverse so we're hoping that the traffic won't be too bad on that," said Jared Fiel a spokesman for CDOT.

Two other intersections are being modified in order to handle the traffic flow during the detour:

  • The eastbound Riverside Avenue left turn lane will be lengthened at the Riverside and South Lemay intersection.
  • The through lane of southbound Riverside Avenue at Prospect Road will be changed to allow left turns onto eastbound Prospect. Left turns from westbound East Prospect Road to southbound Riverside will be prohibited while the eastbound SH 14 temporary detour is in place.

"It should be a pretty easy flow of traffic we've talked with all the businesses in the area, made sure that they understand what's going to happen. It really is just a detour around the bridge for the eastbound traffic that would normally be on Mulberry," said Fiel.
Poudre River Trail Changes

The portion of the trail that provides access underneath the Mulberry Bridge will close around Sept. 25 according to CDOT. This will be the only portion of the trail to close due to the project.

There are two pedestrian bridges next to the current Mulberry Bridge. One will be salvaged for use later and one will be relocated east of Lemay.

Credit City of Fort Collins
/
City of Fort Collins

Bridge Replacement Is Delaying Other Projects

"The diverted traffic makes it problematic for us to do projects along Prospect road during this detour," said Rick Richter director of infrastructure services for Fort Collins.

"We do have some work that needs to be done at the Prospect and Timberline intersection and there are some drainage structures and bridges on east Prospect near I-25," Richter said. "So those projects will need to be delayed until this bridge is replaced and that detour is eliminated."

Why Replace The Bridge?

The current bridge was built in 1949 and is considered structurally deficient.

"Structurally deficient doesn't mean it's going to collapse tomorrow, but it does mean, it has to do with the age of the bridge and if you start seeing some deterioration," said Richter. "We're not comfortable that those structures will last another 10 years."

The construction zone between Riverside Avenue and South Lemay Avenue is traveled by about 25,000 vehicles a day.

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