New walkway officially opens

Pedestrians and bicyclists have a new way to hoof it over the Colorado River and Interstate 70 in downtown Glenwood Springs, albeit temporary.

Grand Avenue bridge project officials formally opened the walkway that is attached to the side of the highway bridge over the weekend, three days ahead of schedule, bridge project spokesman Tom Newland said.

The 5-foot-wide, metal-plank bridge will serve as the temporary pedestrian bridge for the next year while the brand new, separated pedestrian bridge and Seventh Street elevator tower is under construction as part of the larger bridge project.

In the meantime, workers will begin dismantling the existing pedestrian bridge in the coming weeks and moving it, piece by piece, to be reinstalled across the Roaring Fork River between Midland Avenue and the vicinity of 14th Street near Glenwood Springs High School.

Completion of the temporary walkway was one of the first two project milestones that will be celebrated with a community barbecue from noon to 1:30 p.m. Friday on Seventh Street between Colorado and Cooper avenues.

The other milestone is the completion of the south causeway that will serve as the main construction platform during the two-year Grand Avenue/Highway 82 bridge replacement project.

The next major traffic impact related to the project will be the planned closure of the Interstate 70 Exit 116 eastbound on and off ramps for three days from mid-morning Friday through Sunday, March 6, Newland said.

The closure is necessary for the installation of storm sewer drains in that area, he said. During the three-day closure, the only eastbound access and exit from I-70 will be in West Glenwood at Exit 114.