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Repaired Glenwood Canyon bike path now open

Post Independent staff report
Aspen, CO Colorado
Kelley Cox/Post IndependentCyclists took advantage of the warm weather on Friday to enjoy the bike path through Glenwood Canyon, including this newly replaced section east of Shoshone. The path was damaged by the Colorado River after an intense 2011 spring runoff. The bike path is closed during the winter and was officially reopened on Friday.
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GLENWOOD SPRINGS – The Colorado Department of Transportation reopened the 13-mile-long Glenwood Canyon bike path Friday, including a fully repaired two-mile stretch that was damaged in spring flooding last season.

Much of the popular path was closed last season due to extensive damage between the Shoshone Power Plant and the Hanging Lake trailhead caused by the extremely high runoff.

CDOT spent $1.5 million to repair that stretch last fall. Work included rebuilding the embankment beneath the cantilevered trail section, stabilization, repaving and adding new guardrails.



“This is the first time CDOT has ever opened the trail this early in the season,” CDOT Maintenance Superintendent Toby Brown said in a press release. “Due to the path being closed for most of last season and the unusually dry weather now, CDOT Maintenance was able to begin inspection and maintenance operations earlier than ever before.”

The canyon path will be closed the day before any forecasted winter storms through the early spring season. If a storm does not develop, CDOT will reopen the path depending upon long-range weather forecasts, Brown said.




Following a storm, the path will be inspected and swept prior to reopening. Users can check CDOT’s traveler information website at http://www.cotrip.org for trail closure information.

The repair work was paid for with State Transportation Commission contingency funds. Contributing most to the project’s cost were the extensive damage to the cantilever sections and the difficulty in accessing the work site with heavy equipment.

Major erosion to the embankment below the path required the use of a crane to place an estimated 1,800 cubic yards of rock material to stabilize the area.