A long-awaited restoration project along the Roaring Fork River in Glenwood Springs is officially complete.

City officials, project partners and community members gathered Wednesday to mark the opening of a newly rehabilitated stretch of parkland near the Atkinson Trail — a site once plagued by erosion, invasive plants and deteriorating irrigation infrastructure.

“This project shores up a resource that was starting to wash away,” Glenwood Springs City Manager Steve Boyd said. “It’s a very valuable little park. It’s been years in the making, but we’re super glad it’s finally finished.”

Planning for the project began in 2019, with input and support from the city’s River Commission and several environmental groups. Years of grant writing, design changes and budgeting followed before construction could begin.

City Engineer Ryan Gordon said the goal was to preserve the riverfront area’s natural look while solving multiple safety and environmental problems.

“If you can’t see what you did, you did it correctly,” Gordon said. “You’re improving it, making it better without destroying what it looked like before.”

Behind the fence where officials gathered Wednesday, the Atkinson Ditch has been filled in and replanted. Once a half-full water channel that bred mosquitoes and collected trash, the ditch was also home to an old head gate with sharp metal remnants from deteriorated culverts.

“That was a health and safety issue,” Gordon said. “We’ve got school kids coming down here from Sopris Elementary for field trips. I never heard of any problems, but it was kind of a disaster waiting to happen.”

Further upstream, crews removed invasive Russian olive trees, stabilized approximately 700 linear feet of riverbank and reinforced eroding areas that had begun to threaten the trail. In doing so, they protected both the public recreation area and the surrounding habitat.

Long Range Principal Planner and River Commission liaison Jim Hardcastle said the project addressed persistent seepage and standing water issues that turned the area into “a festering mosquito log.”

“There was function in it, sure, but it was just nasty looking,” he said. “They filled it in, regraded the area, replaced sidewalk panels and built a new drain out to the river so it doesn’t fill up anymore.”

Former city planner and current River Commission member Trent Hyatt, who remained closely involved, credited the project’s success to years of coordination and problem solving among local partners and city staff.

“It’s a very important restoration project that’s been ongoing since 2019,” Hyatt said. “There were a lot of different ins and outs — obtaining grants, working with staff to get all the details ironed out — but we all recognize the vital role the Roaring Fork plays in our community.”

Hyatt acknowledged early support from the Middle Colorado Watershed Council, Roaring Fork Conservancy, Pitkin County Healthy Rivers and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. He also thanked city engineers, the parks department, the contractor Frontier Environmental and Wright Water Engineers for their role in bringing the project across the finish line.

Among the many changes: improved fish spawning conditions, restored riparian habitat, invasive species removal, and better access and safety for river users and trail visitors.

Roaring Fork Conservancy Water Quality Program Manager Chad Rudow, who lives just up the hill from the site, said the organization served as a technical advisor on the project.

“To be part of something that enhanced a previously degraded riparian area — that’s high on our list of priorities,” Rudow said. “It’s exciting for us both professionally and personally.”

City Councillor and Mayor Pro Tem Erin Zalinski said she’s watched the site evolve since moving into a nearby home in 2013.

“When it first started, nobody anticipated it taking as long as it did,” she said. “It took an incredible amount of commitment from a lot of people who worked consistently and diligently to bring it to fruition.”

Zalinski outlined some of the project’s accomplishments, including revegetation of about 30,000 square feet of riparian and wetland habitat, removal of outdated infrastructure, and stabilization of the riverbank. Tie-downs for boaters and fly-fishing guides were added, and picnic tables and portable restrooms are expected to follow.

“It still feels natural,” she said. “They integrated it into the environment so it still feels like part of what we love about the Roaring Fork River.”

Boyd acknowledged that the city is managing several ongoing infrastructure efforts, but said the river project is one example of steady progress.

“We’re trying to pick projects off one at a time,” he said. “We’re tearing up a lot of things right now — so bear with us — but things are getting better all the time.”