FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 01, 2004
Contact: Doug Hecox, 202-366-0660
FHWA 20-04k

U.S. DOT Grant to Help Fund Replacement Bridge Over Purgatoire River in Colorado

A new $400,000 Federal Highway Administration grant will help replace the aging northbound bridge over the Purgatoire River in downtown Trinidad, CO, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta.

"The bridge over the Purgatoire River is an important part of a critical commercial traffic corridor between Albuquerque, N.M., and as far north as Montana." said Secretary Mineta. "This investment will help keep people, goods and opportunity moving in the region."

The grant announced today will improve safety for the 16,000 motorists traveling across the bridge each day, Secretary Mineta added.

The bridge project, part of a larger five-year plan to reconstruct I-25 through the Trinidad area, is estimated to cost more than $70 million and will be finished in two years. It will replace the nearly 50-year-old bridge with a new structure, featuring improved shoulders and off-ramps, as well as extend sight distance to improve traffic visibility and LED lighting on the viaduct's outside barrier to illuminate the roadway and make stranded motorists more visible to oncoming traffic.

The project features self-consolidating concrete, an innovative new material which will reduce labor costs and provide a better appearance for the viaduct's abutments and columns.

"Improvements to critical commercial routes like Trinidad's I-25 bridge are central to President Bush's efforts to strengthen the national economy and to safeguard America's motorists," said Federal Highway Administrator Mary E. Peters.

Since 1991, the FHWA has provided funds to states seeking to improve the safety, longevity or utility of key bridges with innovative materials or designs.

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FHWA Press Room