The bridge is the only road connecting parts of Colorado. New cracks were discovered on Wednesday.
GUNNISON, Colo. — When something happens at school, everyone seems to want to know more.
At Gunnison High School, all the questions are focused on how students like Hayden Fresques are getting to class.
“Oh yeah, I’ve been getting asked about it the last three days. ‘Oh my gosh, how are you getting to school? Did you ride the boat today?’ It’s weird,” Fresques joked.
After cracks were discovered on the bridge over Blue Mesa Reservoir outside Gunnison last Thursday, students like Fresques had no idea if they’d be able to return to class. Cracks in the bridge closed U.S. 50 for the foreseeable future. The detour around takes six hours.
Boats now drop about a dozen students who live across the water at the marina on Monday and pick them up again at the end of the week.
“It was weird. I was like, I’m taking a boat to school,” Fresques said. “And it was so early the sun was just coming up. I was just like, what’s happening? It was weird. Not something I’m used to.”
The boats are cold and windy, but they’re now one of the only ways to get from one side of the water to the other. CDOT is also opening a small, dirt mountain road twice a day to guide people over. However, it only opens up at 6:30am and 6:30pm as a guide car drives people across.
“Their world was just rocked, just like that,” said Jim Woytek, the principal at Gunnison High School.
The school district has had to quickly figure out how to make sure everyone can still get an education. Elementary school students who couldn’t make the boat trip across the water are now finishing up the school year doing remote learning. The district has helped organize boats for transporting students and even housing for students who now can’t commute across the water every day.
“Just the generosity is phenomenal,” said Woytek.
“I’ve been staying with my friends’ parents and him for the last two days,” said Fresques. “They’ve been so kind to let me stay with them. I feel so appreciated and cared for because they’re letting me stay at their house while we’re going through these crazy things.”
CDOT engineers told 9NEWS on Wednesday additional cracks were found in the bridge that is already closed. Engineers have not begun inspecting another bridge up the road on U.S. 50 that is believed to be made of the same steel. At this point, engineers have no idea how long the road could stay closed.
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