Grand Avenue Bridge Study Underway
GLENWOOD SPRINGS – The Colorado Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration have initiated the formal Environmental Assessment (EA) process for rehabilitating or replacing the Grand Avenue Bridge on State Highway 82 in downtown Glenwood Springs. The bridge has been rated as in need of replacement or repair by the Colorado Department of Transportation and the State Bridge Enterprise*. An EA is required prior to approval of any major construction project using CDOT and/or federal funds. The EA is expected to take 2 years to complete and will define the purpose and need for the project; describe the range of reasonable improvement alternatives; evaluate the social, economic, historical and environmental impacts of the improvements; define measures to avoid, minimize or mitigate negative impacts of the project; and solicit public involvement and obtain public input for the decision-making process.
After the EA is completed a decision document will be issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the government body charged with making the final decision on which alternative should be built. Design on the final alternative can then commence, and construction could start as early as the winter of 2014.
Meetings have already taken place with the Project Leadership Team and the Glenwood City Council regarding the project. The meetings took place to update the elected officials regarding the study to seek their initial input regarding the issues they felt needed to be addressed. As a result of these meetings, the City Council passed a resolution in October outlining their goals for the project. This resolution can be downloaded using this link: http://www.box.net/shared/xpyubmxce9mvkeibek5m
A Public Scoping Session for the project will be held next Tuesday, November 15th from 4:30 to 7:00 pm at the Glenwood Springs Community Center (100 Wulfsohn Road). Those interested can attend this meeting at any time between 4:30 and 7:00 as it is being conducted in an open house format and no formal presentation will be given. Attendees can learn more about the background information being gathered for the project; submit their input regarding key issues, needs and goals; obtain information on the environmental process and project schedule; get questions answered regarding the project; and learn how to get involved as the study progresses. Representatives from CDOT and the project consultant, Jacobs Engineering, will be on hand to answer questions and record citizen input.
Those with questions or concerns about the project may contact Joshua Cullen, CDOT Project Manager, at (970) 384-3379 or e-mail at [email protected]. Those wanting to receive project updates can sign up via CDOT’s free message system. Go to www.coloradodot.info and click on green cell phone in the upper right hand side of the page. After signing in, scroll down to “SH 82 Aspen to Glenwood” and check the box. Updated information on other CDOT projects can be found at www.coloradodot.info or by calling 511.
*The Colorado Bridge Enterprise is a government-owned business entity within CDOT. The Colorado General assembly created the statewide Bridge Enterprise via Senate Bill 09-108, also known as FASTER (Funding Advancements for Surface Treatment and Economic Recovery www.coloradodot.info/projects/faster). The purpose of the Bridge Enterprise is to complete designated bridge projects that involve the financing, repair, reconstruction and replacement of bridges designated as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, and rated “poor” by CDOT.
