‘All the roads are washed out:’ Southern Colorado bridge collapses, limiting road routes
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Workers are trying to repair damaged roads across the state from the severe weather we’ve been seeing this week.
In eastern El Paso County, Colorado State Troopers responded to calls around three in the morning of flooded roads and a collapsed bridge.
The Department of Public Works (DPW) told 11 News they hadn’t seen it this bad in decades.
That bridge is on Peyton Highway near Judge Orr Road. The road is currently closed for repairs.
Black Squirrel Creek flows just below the bridge, and officials said the flood waters are the culprit for the damage. According to DPW, the water needed somewhere to go and found a weak point in the soil directly next to the bridge.
“The roadway where you see the failure is adjacent to the bridge where instead of concrete and steel, you have soil. And so, the water oversaturated the soil and undermined the road in that location,” Amy Dahlberg, Engineer with El Paso County, said.
Residents experienced a mix of heavy rain, hail, and tornado warnings on Thursday and early Friday morning.
11 News spoke with several Peyton residents. One said she now has a lake where her pond used to be.
“I have an acre and a half pond, and it’s about 12 feet deep- and it’s now part of the yard,” Bonnie Kattau, Owner of Maggie’s Cornerstore, said. “It’s all wet. But it’s flowing off. But the hardest part is getting around Peyton because all the roads are washed out.”
“You couldn’t tell the difference between what would have been the ground and a river,” Kattau continued.
Officials said they are working to fix this bridge as quickly as possible. They do not have a time estimate at this point.
“We have to assess on an engineering level and perform calculations and discuss what the plan might be moving forward,” Dahlberg said.
Locals told 11 News they often see summer storms sweep through town but said they’ve never seen it this bad.
Kattau said she got about five inches of rain in an hour Thursday night.
“The last time I remember, I think it was 2015, but it was not like this,” Kattau said. “I’ve never seen the water flow like this and the 24 years I’ve been out here.”
Peyton residents also said this bridge connects locals to town. So in the meantime, they’re forced to take alternate routes.
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Source: KKTV
