Fully Repaired Glenwood Canyon Bike Path Opens Tomorrow

GARFIELD/EAGLE COUNTIES – The Colorado Department of Transportation is pleased to open the I-70 Glenwood Canyon bike path for users tomorrow, March 23, at noon. Much of the popular path remained closed last season due to extensive damage caused by spring 2011 flooding.

“This is the first time CDOT has ever opened this early in the season,” CDOT Maintenance Superintendent Toby Brown said. “Due to the path being closed for most of last season and the unusually dry weather, CDOT Maintenance was able to begin inspection and maintenance operations earlier than ever before.”

Brown cautions that—for both safety and staffing sake—the path will be subject to closure the day before any forecasted winter storms. If a storm does not develop, CDOT will re-open depending up long-range weather forecasts. If a storm does develop, the path will be inspected and swept prior to re-opening.  Again, opening will depend on long range forecasts. Users can check CDOT’s traveler information website at www.cotrip.org.

The total cost of last season’s damages and associated repairs was approximately $1.5 million, paid for with State Transportation Commission contingency funds. Contributing most to the project’s cost were the extensive damage to the cantilever sections, as well as the difficulty of accessing the path with necessary equipment. Major erosion to the embankment below the path required transporting and placing—with a crane—an estimated 1,800 cubic yards of rock material to stabilize the area.

For information on road conditions, the public may log on to http://www.coloradodot.info/ or call 511 from anywhere in the state. To sign up for FREE e-mail and/or wireless updates to road conditions in any chosen area, go to CDOT’s web site and choose the green phone icon in the upper right-hand corner.

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