US 50 bridge reroute: Expanded travel times begin May 3 on County Road 26 local access route

Travel times on County Road 26, the US 50 highway reroute or Lake City Cutoff, are expanding to be open four times a day in each direction, the Colorado Department of Transportation said Wednesday in a social media post on X.

Starting Friday, County Road 26 will be open four times a day for local travel between Montrose and Gunnison.

The full list of travel times will be:

First time slot:

• 6:30 to 7 a.m. for westbound travel beginning at CO 149 and CR 26
• 7:30 to 8 a.m. for eastbound travel beginning at US 50 and CR 26

Second time slot:

• Noon to 12:30 p.m. for westbound travel beginning at CO 149 and CR 26 - **Starting Friday, May 3
• 1 to 1:30 p.m. for eastbound travel beginning at US 50 and CR 26 - **Starting Friday, May 3

Third time slot:

• 6:30 to 7 p.m. for westbound travel beginning at CO 149 and CR 26
• 7:30 to 8 p.m. for eastbound travel beginning at US 50 and CR 26

Fourth time slot:

• 8:30 to 9 p.m. for westbound travel beginning at CO 149 and CR 26.**Starting Friday, May 3
• 9:30 to 10 p.m. for eastbound travel beginning at US 50 and CR 26. **Starting Friday, May 3

CDOT also said it has been closely coordinating with Gunnison County officials, contractor Kiewit Infrastructure Co. and the Federal Highway Administration to safely expand access to CR 26, with improvements to the county road by Kiewit crews continuing and will be adjusted to make sure work continues smoothly.

A crack in a support beam in the US 50 bridge spanning Blue Mesa Reservoir was identified by an inspection crew on April 18, subsequently closing the highway connecting Gunnison to Montrose and created a 354-mile detour and 6-8 hours extra travel time for commuters.

CDOT said no other public travel will be allowed on CR 26 outside of the times listed and travelers should continue to plan for pilot vehicles and an unpaved road service.

CDOT said CR 26 is a high-mountain, native surface road not built to sustain existing US 50 traffic levels. Trailers and commercial vehicles more than 16,000 GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) are not allowed on the local access route. Prohibited vehicles will need to use recommended alternate routes for travel between Gunnison and Montrose.

CDOT has two recommended detours:

1. via Interstate 70 to the north
2. US 160 to the south. These detours add six to eight hours of travel time.

Information is also available on the project website at bit.ly/us50bridge.