Canyon bike path may open today

GLENWOOD SPRINGS ” Break out the bikes, blades and skateboards. Spring is here for the bike path. Maybe.

The path may be opened today at noon, as long as snow is not in the weekend forecast.

“The path is ready to go,” said Don Poole, a Colorado Department of Transportation maintenance worker. “We’re kind of waiting on the weather.”

CDOT doesn’t want to open the path for half a day, causing people to think it’s open for the season, and then close it due to snow.

“If the weekend weather forecast is calling for snow, we will not open the path,” Poole said.

Snow from Interstate 70 sometimes gets plowed over the guardrail and down onto the path, sometimes from as high as 30 or 40 feet, which would not be fun for anyone underneath.

CDOT has worked for about three days sweeping the 16 miles of path from near the Hot Springs Pool to the east end of Glenwood Canyon. Leftover sand or salt material must be swept off for the path to be in good condition. Last year, about 204 tons of salt and sand products were used on I-70 in the canyon and immediate area, according to CDOT figures.

People do bypass the barricades and go down to the path before it’s opened, Poole said, but at that point they’re kind of on their own in terms of safety and liability.

Workers cut back encroaching brush and limbs each year and pour grout or asphalt into cracks in the concrete path. Often, water and snow form cracks in the path that must be repaired, but this year there was no serious damage, Poole said.