2022 in Review: Glenwood Springs residents welcome Midland Construction completion with open arms
Chelsea Self / Post Independent
Infrastructural improvements to Midland Avenue in Glenwood Springs was like having an itchy sweater you just couldn’t get rid of.
On any given day throughout 2021 and into the spring and summer of 2022, the $13.2 million project that repaved everything between 27th Street and Four Mile teemed with construction crews and backed up traffic.
South Midland Avenue in particular directly links the main part of town with the Glenwood Springs Municipal Airport, Sopris Elementary School, Sunlight Mountain Resort and several residential neighborhoods in the south Glenwood area and up the Four Mile corridor and Three Mile canyon.
But in early July, residents, commuters and a giant scissor wielding Mayor Jonathan Godes traded this itchy sweater for the roadway equivalent of a Cardigan, as the city finally marked the completion of the 18-month-long project.
Chelsea Self/Post Independent
The project was funded by the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Department of Local Affairs, tax revenues from Glenwood Springs and Garfield County.
Meanwhile, construction was done by Glenwood’s very own Gould Construction. The local entity ensured the project remained on schedule despite battling labor shortages and supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The project literally kicked off December 2020, a high point in the pandemic. But by late 2021, Gould President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Gould Jr. told Glenwood Springs City Council that they were ahead of schedule.
“We believe we’re ahead of schedule,” he said. “I’m really proud of the team for the amount of work they were able to accomplish in a short period of time.”
Not only did this labor of love remove Midland’s many cracks and blemishes, it installed rockwall netting, a new water line and a much-needed sidewalk alongside the roadway. It also mitigated natural deterioration caused by weathering and shifting land.
“This is such a great win for the community,” Godes was quoted saying during July’s ribbon cutting.
Chelsea Self/Post Independent
Glenwood Springs looks to provide a critical emergency evacuation route between Colorado Highway 82 and the western side of the Roaring Fork River. Called the South Bridge Project, it’s expected to cost $58.1 million.
Post Independent reporter and Assistant Editor Ray K. Erku can be reached at 612-423-5273 or rerku@postindependent.com
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