Redstone South Bridge gets demolished

The Redstone South Bridge has been demolished as part of a replacement project, according to Pitkin County engineer Andrew Knapp, and the project is proceeding on schedule. 

“All of the (old) bridge is completely removed,” Knapp said. “They are planning on getting out of the river for a week or two here, and then they’ll be out of the river for the rest of the project and the rest of the work will be done from above.” 

Construction crews had been working from the river during the construction process thus far, with a raised platform that catches debris from the bridge and holds construction equipment. Because of high water that Knapp credited to “unseasonably” high temperatures in March leading to an early high-water runoff, construction crews had to raise their working platforms slightly to keep out of the water.

The river reached a peak flow of around 400 cubic feet per second on Friday, March 27, before tapering down from there, U.S. Geological Survey data showed. 

Pitkin County has attached an early completion bonus to this project to incentivize construction crews to finish the project quickly, ideally before the target date of Sept. 4. 

“The contractor is prosecuting their work quickly out there and still optimistic that we’re going to be paying out the full incentive for early completion,” Knapp said.

For each day that construction is finished prior to Sept. 4, the Myers and Sons crew that has been hired for the project will get a payout of $2,000 per day, with a maximum of 25 days early. That means there is up to $50,000 extra on the table for Myers and Sons if they finish construction on or before Aug. 10. 

The Redstone South Bridge was one of the oldest bridges in Pitkin County and had reached the end of its service, Knapp told The Aspen Times in February. The “mid-river” pier that stood in the water also had the potential to create an issue as it caught debris throughout its life. 

The new bridge will not have a pier in the water. 

“We’re doing what we call free spanning the river, not having anything in the river,” Knapp said in February before construction crews broke ground on the bridge project. 

The next step in construction is the installation of “micropiles,” which will support the bridge on either side of the river. That project is expected to start this week. 

During construction, Redstone is accessible by car via Redstone Boulevard only, meaning the town only has one way in and out. Redstone is also accessible to pedestrians via a pedestrian bridge near the Elk Park parking lot, where visitors can park their car and walk into town. 

What’s happening in Aspen, in one click.

Sign up for daily or weekly newsletters AspenTimes.com/newsletter