Glenwood Springs Traffic Mess

[4runnerguy]

Just a quick note while we're briefly back in town about the traffic mess about to occur in Glenwood Springs, CO. They are going to tear down the old bridge across the Colorado River and replace it with a new one. This is the main route up valley on CO 82 from I-70 to Aspen, Redstone, Marble, Maroon Bells, and on over Independence or McClure Passes.

A week from today (8/14) they are totally closing the bridge and all access up valley from I-70 will using the West Glenwood exit 114 and travelling two lane Midland Avenue on a circuitous route back into town and onto CO 82 (Grand Avenue). Initial estimates of delays of an hour at morning and evening rush hour, so if your travel plans are through here, go on the weekends or off hours.

Even if you aren't planning exiting in Glenwood, your travels on I-70 will still be disrupted if you come through town between 8 pm and 6 am. All traffic on I-70 in both directions will be routed off the highway, on side streets through town in the area of the pool, and back onto the highway. Again, expect big delays, as these are two lane roads with stop lights carrying all the traffic of a four lane interstate.

While we are reaching the end of summer, the areas around Aspen, Redstone, Maroon Bells, etc. attract a lot of visitors in the fall when the aspen are changing. I'm not looking forward to any of this.

As for us, we're planning on using our bikes around town as much as possible. We can surely ride the three mile detour through West Glenwood in far less than an hour. Don't know what were going to do when the weather turns cold and the sun rises later and sets earlier. :?

This closure is to last until sometime in December.

[Thom02099]

Hey Ken,

Is traffic on I-70 WB through town impacted by this? I'm planning to head that way in October enroute to the Grand Canyon.

I'm thinking if it's a real mess to start looking for alternate routes to I-70. (Not looking for a a scenic route, but a "get there" route. Scenic route is already planned for the return). I've even thought about taking CO 14 to US 40 and going to Craig, and then take CO 13 south to I-70.

[4runnerguy]

And so it has started. Monday wasn't too bad. Worst was the miles long backup on I-70 eastbound. They were giving tickets to those who stayed in the left lane and tried to cut in at the last minute. :S Rode my bike to where I was working at a ski resort. (16 miles, 1500', 2 1/2 hours, 😮 ) Coming back (one hour :B ), traffic was at a total standstill. Probably passed 300+ cars essentially parked on the road, waiting their turn.

Today (Tuesday) was much worse. Morning rush hour lasted two hours longer. This evening, we were coming in from the south of town and at 8:30 p.m., it took 30 minutes to go 1 1/2 miles through town.

If you have some familiarity with Glenwood Springs, this link has a variety of cameras from the hills around town looking down at the important intersections: Clicky You can use it to time your trip through town.

I hope they get things figured out sooner than later. But in 10 days or so, school starts which will mean a whole different amount and type of traffic circulation. Only 93 more days!

[d3500ram]

Spoke to some friends who live over that way... I guess it is being referred to as: "Bridge-mageddon"

[4runnerguy]

d3500ram wrote:
Are the businesses under it going to be disrupted? We usually stop at Juicy Lucy's on the way back from project sites... would hate to miss out on an opportunity of having a fantastic steak dinner courtesy of our clients.

All businesses are still open and the detour will take you close to Joicy Lucy's anyway. They will be happy for your business as they will be impacted big time. For instance we'll be much less likely to head into town to go eat as it won't be worth dealing with the traffic. My cooking isn't so bad as we'll starve.

[d3500ram]

Thanks for the update.

My firm has several projects over in the RFV and we were wondering when the changeover would happen. This will be a minor inconvenience for a much better bridge- many times I would be sitting in traffic on that bridge and could feel the up/ down movement on it when oncoming traffic would pass by.

Are the businesses under it going to be disrupted? We usually stop at Juicy Lucy's on the way back from project sites... would hate to miss out on an opportunity of having a fantastic steak dinner courtesy of our clients.