When state officials closed the Middle Bridge over U.S. 50 last week, it left many reeling.

The bridge over Blue Mesa Reservoir was discovered to have defects — specifically cracking in the steel — during a safety inspection.

The closure immediately meant detours of six hours to the north or seven hours to the south, though since then, County Road 26 has been made available for local travel. Regular sized vehicles, under 16,001 pounds, can use the road at specified travel times, twice a day, with a pilot car leading the way.

County Road 26 access was first made available on Monday.

Westbound travel is available from 6 to 6:30 a.m. and from 6 to 6:30 p.m. Eastbound travel is available from 7 to 7:30 a.m. and 7 to 7:30 p.m.

County Road 26 will only be open for local, essential travel during these timeframes. The road will remain closed at all other times for the ongoing restoration work needed to ensure the road remains safe for travel, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Gunnison County, Montrose County and CDOT are also working to find other routes and to open other season roads earlier by clearing snow and doing maintenance.

Still, that has left many questions for those who conduct business in Montrose and Gunnison.

Montrose County Commissioner Sue Hansen on Tuesday night, during a virtual public meeting conducted by CDOT, said there are bound to be economic impacts, but “to what degree, we can’t know yet.”

One concern she mentioned was the ability to transport livestock and supplies for agriculture suppliers and producers.

But that’s just scratching the surface of potential problems.

Sandy Head, executive director for the Montrose Economic Development Commission, said some businesses are already seeing negative effects and are looking for solutions.

Montrose Forest Products being one of those, needing to transport lumber through the area.

Emergency transport vehicles are allowed access through, a decision that was made early on, but Montrose Regional Health and its patients are currently being affected, according to Leann Tobin, the hospital’s marketing officer.

“The bridge closure is definitely affecting our patients who come from the Gunnison, Crested Butte, Lake City area.  Some had to receive their care elsewhere (i.e. dialysis), some have waited in the line at Lake City cutoff and others have taken the long way around to get there and are staying in a hotel,” she said.

They are working with community partners daily to find other opportunities to serve their patients. The Tough Enough to Wear Pink organization in Gunnison stepped up to help some of their cancer patients.

But there is still question about when easier access might be made available.

“We have daily meetings with all the people involved,” Tobin said.

Regarding tourism, there are also plenty of questions. Tourist traffic through Montrose, Ouray and other parts of the Western Slope here rely on access to U.S. 50.

Wildfires that closed much of I-70 in recent history led to some of the busiest tourist traffic on U.S. 50 this area has seen.

“Everyone came through Highway 50 because that was the detour,” said William Woody, communications specialist for the City of Montrose. “That year, we had record amounts of sales tax revenue from our restaurants and hotels. Highway 50 being taken out, I guess that would definitely have an effect on that, but (we are) just kind of waiting and seeing.”

The suddenness of the closure is a big reason many are currently left with more problems than solutions and more questions than answers.

“There’s really no way to plan for any of this, because there’s really no notice,” Woody said. “What we’re trying to do, like everyone is doing is reacting and waiting to see what a fix is.”

CDOT hasn’t given any clear answers in that regard, as the agency is using “all available resources” to find out just how extensive the damage to the bridge is and when a plan for a fix might be put in place.

Until then, everyone is looking for more solutions.

Justin Tubbs is the Montrose Business Times editor. He can be reached by email at justin@montrosebusinesstimes.com or by phone at 970-765-0915 or mobile at 254-246-2260.