The bridge spanning the Gunnison River on State Highway 92, east of Delta, Colorado, was built in 1938. Despite ongoing maintenance, its load capacity was reduced in 2016. At inspection two years later, numerous structural and functional deficiencies resulted in an FHWA sufficiency rating of 27 out of 100, indicating a serious need for corrective action.

With a full rehabilitation of the historic three-span steel truss prohibitively expensive, a replacement bridge was considered the best option. To reduce inconvenience to motorists during the anticipated year-long project, contractor Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction rented a modular steel structure from Acrow to serve as a detour for local traffic and the many visitors to the heavily-touristed region.

Acrow’s clear span bridge is 250 feet long (76.2m) witha roadway width of 30 feet (9.15m). It was designed to AASHTO HL-93 load specifications to accommodate truck traffic and has an anti-skid aggregate epoxy road surface. Despite the particularly long length of the span, the bridge was installed without problem utilizing a full cantilever launch.

Construction on the project began in late November 2021 with Acrow’s bridge open to traffic by mid February 2022. The temporary structure remained place until the completion of the project a year later in November 2022.

Acrow’s modular steel detour bridges are rapidly installed in days and offer a proven solution for mitigating the road user impacts of construction projects. Valued for ease of assembly, erection, and disassembly, these economical detour solutions can help ensure infrastructure improvement projects are delivered quickly and safely.