U.S. 40 bridge replacement to cause 127-mile detour

SHARON SPRINGS, Kan. (KSNW) -- A bridge replacement project on U.S. Highway 40 will cause a 127-mile detour.

The Kansas Department of Transportation says that starting April 1, crews will begin replacing the bridge over the train tracks on U.S. 40, 7 miles west of Sharon Springs. The detour is 127 miles long for westbound traffic on U.S. 40 through to Colorado and roughly 134 miles for eastbound traffic coming from Colorado.

Westbound U.S. 40 traffic will be diverted to Kansas Highway 27 at Sharon Springs up to Interstate 70 in Goodland, then west on I-70 to Burlington, Colorado, where drivers will head south on U.S. 385 to connect back to U.S. 40 in Cheyenne Wells. Eastbound traffic will need to use the same detour.

Wallace County Road Supervisor Anthony Garcia tells KSN news that only local traffic and deliveries will be able to access Sharon Springs using Old U.S. Highway 40, just south of the construction zone. Old Highway 40 is a narrow, mostly dirt road that cannot handle highway traffic.

The bridge is the last of three projects on U.S. 40 in Wallace County. Crews are currently replacing the bridge over the Smoky Hill River east of Sharon Springs and the railroad bridge west of Wallace.

The bridge replacement project west of Sharon Springs is expected to be completed by the end of this year.