The end of “construction season” is in sight, with several projects having wrapped up earlier this summer. Others are still getting started, with completion goals set for as early as September. 

Individual projects aside, there are a few factors residents can expect to remain consistent for all ongoing and upcoming projects: 

City projects are supported by several sources of funding 

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The city is never done acquiring grants and external sources of funding, whether they be from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) or local organizations like the Glenwood Springs Downtown Development Authority (DDA).  

Even after development has already begun, projects like the Sixth Street Project are still reaching new funding sources, such as the recently-awarded First/Last Mile Mobility grant from the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA). So far, the funding breakdown for Sixth Street’s $5.53 million price tag looks like this: 46.3% from DDA, 32.6% from the City Acquisitions and Improvements Fund, and 21.1% from CDOT, according to Public Information Officer Bryana Starbuck.

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The city of Glenwood Springs is focusing much of its own funding on infrastructure repairs — such as new stormwater and sewer improvements — while “beautification” elements for some projects (including the Downtown Alleyway Project) are financially supported by organizations like the DDA. 

Later completion dates don’t always mean longer construction times 

Some of the city’s construction projects can be built fairly quickly, but can have faraway completion dates because of the time it takes to plan and coordinate for road or trail impacts. The city’s A-Line Break at West First Street, for example, will likely only take 1-2 days to complete, according to City Engineer Ryan Gordon. The time-consuming part is coordinating with approved traffic control companies to organize safe and efficient lane shutdowns. 

Not all projects will be year-round 

Larger projects like the Blake Avenue Reconstruction Project are being completed in phases, meaning the city sometimes takes breaks between phases. This helps the city stick to their typical construction season (and thus avoid winter construction), but it also allows more time for planning and applying for alternative sources of funding. After city crews wrap up phase 1 of Blake Avenue, residents can expect the city to turn to other deferred projects before crews begin working on the next stretch of road. 

Other projects like the Sixth Street and North Landing Improvement Project have intentional “winter breaks,” allowing more road and business access during the busy holiday season. This also allows certain events like the annual Hotel Colorado Lighting Ceremony to take place without complications. 

Completed projects

Since Gordon’s April 18 presentation to Glenwood Springs City Council on the status of their different construction projects, three projects have already (or nearly) reached the 100% completion mark: Devereux Bridge Redecking Project, the Riverview Drive Stormwater Project and Pump Station 11,000.  

Devereux Bridge Redecking Project consisted of replacing and resurfacing the existing bridge decking, which was in “pretty rough shape,” according to Gordon.  

“It looks really nice, that project turned out really well,” he said.  

Riverview Drive Stormwater Project was focused on piping a section of the Atkinson Ditch, which remained open during the construction. The section functions as a stormwater system in the Red Mountain neighborhood because of its water collected. The construction therefore aimed to improve the problem of standing water for insect vectors and trash.  

Pump Station 11,000 is “virtually done” at 95% completion, with just final site restoration left. The project, located near the Glenwood Springs Shopping Mall on Meadows Drive, is a new wastewater pump station that will pump to the wastewater plant and provide greater capacity.  

“Everything will be moved out of there probably at the end of September” Gordon said.  

With the completed projects out of the way, the city can continue to focus their efforts on remaining — and upcoming — improvement and reparation projects.  

Sixth Street and North Landing Improvement Project

The Sixth Street Project is officially underway. The city began mobilization for the project and fenced off North Landing the week of Aug. 5, with potholing work slated for this week.  

“Certainly with this work we know that parking will be disrupted, but we are working with some of the business owners on a collaborative approach to try to not only keep existing parking, but maybe increase some parking for visitors,” Gordon said.  

The project would extend the feel of downtown into its northern half, which will help to promote the businesses on Sixth Street. This includes improvements such as new stormwater, water, sewer and electrical/lighting infrastructure, along with pedestrian-friendly landscaping and safety improvements, according to Gordon.  

The Sixth Street improvements will run along Pine and Laurel Streets, with expected completion by the end of 2025, Gordon said. The road will remain open for vehicular and pedestrian traffic throughout.  

“The project will go quiet over the holiday season (mid-November to mid-January) … to give a break to these businesses, but also we recognize that the holiday season has a lot of stuff going on … this is to make sure these activates can still happen (without) any holes in the ground,” Gordon said.  

Gould Construction, the contractor, will have a traffic control circulation plan that will be updated as construction progresses. Gordon said the city plans to host bi-weekly meetings with businesses along Sixth Street to communicate construction progress and concerns.   

Several million dollars were shaved off from the original cost to reach nearly $7 million overall project cost ($5.5 million for Sixth Street and $1.45 million for North Landing) thanks to redesign efforts with Gould. Part of the project funding will come from the Glenwood Springs Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and CDOT grants.  

Residents can apply for project updates at cogs.us/730/6th-Street.  

Blake Avenue Reconstruction Project

Reconstruction for the Blake Avenue Corridor encompasses 13th to 27th Street, though phase one only stretches from the soon-to-be one-way 24th and 27th Streets, including the connecting 24th and 26th Street roadways onto Colorado Highway 82.  

Gordon said phase one is around the 50% completion mark, which includes the brand-new curb and gutter, sidewalk, roadway, sewer and stormwater infrastructure on 24th Street. City crews are now working on similar improvements for the portion of Blake between 23rd and 26th streets.  

“We have removed the entire roadway surface from 23rd to 26th and are replacing the subgrade,” Gordon said.   

One of the road improvements includes all-electrical lighting, as there are currently no lighting fixtures on the street. Overhead lighting will be provided for intersections, while sidewalk lighting will come from non-intrusive bollard lights.  

“Those are essentially 3-foot-high lighting posts that have a light to shine on the path itself,” Gordon said. “The lighting is not intrusive and is not shining into anybody’s bedrooms or living rooms. Mostly it is lighting for … the sidewalks.”  

Gordon said the timeline for completing the rest of the phases will be dependent on available funds, as well as the city’s need to focus on other deferred projects. 

“If we had a lot more money, we could do a lot more of the work in a shorter amount of time,” he said. 

Phase one of the project will be finished by the first week of September. The overall corridor reconstruction will likely be wrapped up in the next 3-4 years, according to Gordon.  

A-Line Break at West First Street

The city is working to finalize its A-line breaks at West First Street, which Gordon said will provide emergency access to Interstate 70. The project came as a result of conversations about how to improve West Glenwood’s evacuation and emergency response.  

The project is close to completion, with the final touch being a completion of the work from the city’s right-of-way to the Colorado Department of Transportation’s right-of-way.  

“Our challenge there is the traffic control that we need,” Gordon said.  

This part of the project will require Interstate 70 lane shutdowns by exit 116, though Starbuck said city crews would avoid working during evening commute times. The finished product will match what was done in West Glenwood at the end of Storm King Drive.  

“It would be during the day to minimize impacts on the traveling public,” she said.  

The project is scheduled for completion by the end of September.  

“But we are basically functionally complete on those, meaning that if an emergency happened tomorrow, we could utilize it. It may not be perfect, but it’s still functional,” Gordon said.  

Downtown Alleyway Project

The city officially began construction on their Downtown Alley Project roughly two weeks ago, which encompasses two downtown blocks: Block 45 (between Cooper and Blake, and Seventh and Eighth Street) and block 44 (between Grand Avenue and Cooper, and Seventh and Eighth Street).  

The city is currently doing work in the north-south section of block 45 until mid-September, which includes paving the surface with concrete to make the surface more durable, as well as removing overhead electrical power lines and placing them underground. Gas line work for the alleys will begin on Monday.  

“Overall, what we’re doing is we are improving the drainage and stormwater infrastructure,” Gordon said. “There is no stormwater infrastructure at all in these alleyways, so what happened before was (that) water would fall and flow where it wanted to collect and it would collect in holes, and so you’d have … trash and garbage and things that would collect there. So this is cleaning that up, making it a much safer area.”  

The project is being funded by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, the DDA and the city. The city’s funding is going toward the underground stormwater infrastructure, while the DDA is funding the above-ground aesthetic improvements.  

Gordon said they anticipate completing the alley work by the end of summer 2025.  

Debris Flow Mitigation

The west side of Glenwood Springs experienced major mudflow and debris flow issues in the Spring of 2023 “with near-catastrophic results,” according to Gordon.  

The Debris Flow Mitigation project aims to mitigate debris flows for basins A, B, C and D located above the water plant, RFTA maintenance facility, wastewater plant and Cardnell substation.    

“All these projects are to protect critical infrastructure,” Gordon said.  

The big detention basins are designed to capture debris flow and then filter out clean water that won’t clog up downstream stormwater facilities.  

The city is close to completion on Basins C-D, with completion expected by mid-October. Construction for basin A, located above the Red Mountain neighborhood in order to protect the city’s water tank and water plant, is just getting started this week. Protecting the neighborhood also requires the installation of debris flow fences.  

Basin A construction will likely last into the 2025 construction season, though construction impacts on Jeanne Golay Trail and Grandstaff Trail will likely be done by the end of 2024, according to Gordon. Roughly 75% of the project is being funded by the Natural Resource Conservation Service.  

Three Mile Shoreline Restoration Project

The Three Mile project was prompted by concerns that the shoreline was steadily deteriorating due to high water flows and erosion from surges of quick snowmelt. The project not only aims to preserve and stabilize the riverbank, but also to revegetate approximately 30,000 square feet of riparian and wetland habitat, along with removing harmful invasive species.   

The Three-Mile Creek Shoreline is located in South Glenwood on the western side of the Roaring Fork River, right along the Atkinson Trail. The city began construction on Aug. 5, with a completion date of Sept. 30. Construction work includes installing large boulders with a soil substrate underground and placing willow trimmings to hold the features of the riverbank in place against water surges, which will require Atkinson Trail closures (with a recommended detour along Midland Avenue and through Cardiff Bridge to South Grand Avenue). 

27th Street Pedestrian Underpasses Project

RFTA’s 27th Street Pedestrian Underpasses Project — which is not a city project — hit the 75% completion mark in early July, according to an update posted to the project website. The project is in its third and final phase, which consists of completing the north half of the 27th Street tunnel and realigning the Rio Grande Trail.

The project is nearing completion with a projected early finish date of mid-October. Ben Ludlow, projects manager for the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority, confirmed that the project is within budget during a presentation to Glenwood Springs City Council on Thursday.

RFTA crews are working to finish the pedestrian sidewalks near the 27th Street Bus Rapid Transit Station, with guardrail installation having been completed earlier this summer.

Remaining project items include landscaping, snow fencing, pedestrian fencing, sidewalk connections, utilities and paving of 27th Street, all of which will be wrapped up within the next few weeks, according to Ludlow.

Phase one of the underpass consisted of construction of the east portal and the east half of Highway 82 underpass, while phase two saw construction on the west half of the Highway 82 underpass and the south half of 27th Street, as well as construction on the walls of the underpass.

The intersection of Highway 82 and 27th Street has since been restored to its original alignment prior to construction, according to the post. RFTA has also “revamped the intersection with new signal poles and mast arms.”

The next three months of construction will consist of the following:

• August: Final configuration of 27th Street, and a traffic shift “back to normal.”
• September: Completion of pedestrian components and landscaping.
• October: Grand opening celebration on Oct. 15, with the attendance of elected officials from CDOT, Federal Highway Administration, Federal Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, Sen. Michael Bennet and Glenwood Springs city councilors.