RFTA to tackle Rio Grande cleanup in stages

CARBONDALE – Work to clean up the rock and mud slides that have closed the Rio Grande Trail in the midvalley will take place in stages.

First, crews will make the trail safe and get it open, then longer-term repairs will be undertaken, according to Mike Hermes, trails and facilities manager for the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority. The transit agency maintains the trail outside of Pitkin County.

Hermes said Wednesday there are 15 places along a 1.5-mile stretch of the trail that must be cleaned up or repaired. Those slide areas are between Catherine Bridge, above Carbondale, and Rock Bottom Ranch, closer to Emma.

The good news is, it appears only a 20- to 30-foot section of asphalt was “taken out,” by the slide debris, Hermes said.

The slides occurred Monday night during and after torrential downpours hit the midvalley.

The Rio Grande Trail runs the length of the Roaring Fork Valley, linking Aspen and Glenwood Springs.