Crowley County

Part of Highway 71 south of Ordway will be closed starting Monday as work begins to replace a bridge over the Arkansas River. According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, the closure is expected to continue through late October.

Access to businesses along the highway will remain available, however a three-quarter mile segment between mile markers 18.75 and 19.5 will be inaccessible as the aging bridge is replaced.

While drought conditions across Colorado were mostly stable over the past week, extreme drought expanded in the southeast, with Kiowa county bearing most of the impact.