Stories in this list received the most page views on postindependent from Nov. 10-Nov. 17

1.With bridges starting to go up, drivers on 1-70 will see ‘magnitude and size’ of $900 million Floyd Hill Project  

The Colorado Department of Transportation is moving mountains — literally — as part of a $900 million project to rebuild an 8-mile section of Interstate 70 to improve safety and travel time reliability.

Since October last year, crews working on the Floyd Hill Project have completed more than 135 rock blasts, removing more than 600,000 tons of material, an amount equal to the weight of 20 Statues of Liberty, according to the transportation department.

Now, work has begun to build new interstate bridges with gentler, safer curves through the widened canyon that is a main thoroughfare for those traveling between Denver and the mountains.

-Ryan Spencer

2. Glenwood Springs City Council finalizes $49.6 million South Bridge federal grant agreement 

The Glenwood Springs City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a $49.6 million federal grant agreement for the South Bridge project, clearing a major step toward construction.

Mayor Pro Tem Erin Zalinski was not in attendance, but the six remaining council members voted in favor of the agreement, which finalizes federal transportation funding and allows the city to move forward with project obligations.

City Engineer Ryan Gordon said the contract comes through the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. The approval allows the city to formally obligate the grant, meaning funds can begin transferring from the federal government to the Colorado Department of Transportation and then to the city.

-Taylor Cramer 

3.Cattle Creek Confluence Coalition hosts informational meeting in protest of Harvest Roaring Fork PUD

The Harvest Roaring Fork Planned Unit Development (HRFV), designed to add enough housing for nearly 5,000 people in between Glenwood Springs and Carbondale, has become a contentious debate in the area — although nearly everyone on both sides of the aisle agrees that housing is desperately needed in the Roaring Fork Valley. 

The Cattle Creek Confluence Coalition (CCCC) hosted a meeting at the Glenwood Springs Public Library on Thursday night in pursuit of building a strong opposition to the proposed development, which could potentially house more people than the town of Basalt. 

According to the Harvest Roaring Fork Planned Unit Development Guide, the new neighborhood will feature 1,500 residential units, plus 450 Accessory Dwelling Units, 55,000 square feet of commercial space and a 120-room hotel on 280 acres of land. The development would be built on one of the last pieces of undeveloped land in the Roaring Fork Valley, just south of the Habitat for Humanity — across the highway from the Cattle Creek Road turnoff.

-Jaymin Kanzer 

4.Rifle family looks to rebuild themselves following home fire 

Losing everything can happen in an instant — something Caitlin and Brian Sweeney know all too well. The father-and-daughter duo shared a home in Rifle’s King’s Crown trailer park, filled with the warmth of their  two dogs and three cats, until the day everything changed 

Around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 5, the Colorado River Fire Rescue responded to a structure fire, the home of the Sweeneys. 

“I was at work,” Brian Sweeney said. “I went in around 8.”

-Katherine Tomanek 

5.This Frisco home sale is the most expensive on record in the town’s history 

Frisco just saw its most expensive home sale on record coming in at over $6.5 million for a single-family in the Frisco Heights subdivision. 

The Summit County Assessor’s Office said the data it has indicates the sale that occurred on Monday, Oct. 20 is the highest priced single-family residence on record, and the Altitude Realtors Association confirmed this through Multiple Listing Service data. 

The approximate 6,135-square-foot home with six bedrooms and six bathrooms is located at 152 County Road 1040 and sits on a 1.17-acre lot. Selling real estate agent Derrick Fowler, owner of Colorado Mountain Homes Real Estate, said the home’s amenities and its near-perfect condition is what made it stand out to him. 

-Kit Geary, Summit Daily News