Hwy 50

I did hwy 50 from Grand Junction to the 25 and it was good over all. Monarch Pass was the only part that for me was scary as some told me it might be. 7 miles up and 7 miles down, almost 12000 ft up. At the top I talked to a person in the store and asked about the trip down going east. He told me you can get a ticket for going to fast but never for going to slow. He said if you even went 5 mph down you would not get a ticket, you might make some people behind you mad going so slow. I put my truck in 3rd gear and kept it as 35 mph and all was good. other wise the drive was good.

Thanks everyone for your input. We have arranged our schedule to make the drive on the 50 over the weekend so it should be open!

I don't see why this closure should incite panic in RVers. The road will be open at designated times during the week, and the whole weekend long. So you might have to plan your day of travel, or sit in a waiting line for even a couple of hours. That's why you have an RV! (Of course it is different if you live there and can't get to your place.)

This is no different than the unending construction in Snoqualmie Pass, in Washington, which has caused intermittent road closures for more or less the entire 43 years I've lived in this state!

Not a Clue wrote:
Based on road construction between Montrose and Gunnison am thinking hwy 24 from I 70 to Cheyenne State park. How is hwy 24?

It's a good road. There's a 3 or 4 miles section above Minturn to just after the ghost town of Gilman that's a bit of a pull, but past that, the grade is good to the top of Tennessee Pass. From there, it's an easy drive all the way on US 24. I would avoid driving this section on a Sunday. Lots of going home traffic. Once they paved the road over Cottonwood Pass, seems many are taking that instead of coming over Monarch Pass. So the left turn US 24 takes a couple of miles south of Buena Vista can back up all the way into town on Sundays. We probably drive US 24 one direction or the other from Minturn to at least Leadville 20 times a year.

There's an interesting historical area a few miles before the top of Tennessee Pass. Camp Hale was the training area for soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division during WWII. Many learned to ski and fight during winter conditions they expected in northern Italy and elsewhere.

folivier wrote:
There is an incentive for having the west end of the project open by the end of July 2021. This would allow us access to Montrose. Other than that not sure if there are any other incentives.
It will be an inconvenience to us as residents but the hwy is supposed to be open each weekend with both lanes of traffic. We are retired and can schedule our trips to town for the weekends but the business owners, doctors and nurses who work both in Montrose and Gunnison, and ranchers will be greatly affected by this. But CDOT and the state officials are all aware of this.
Best to avoid this area except for the weekends.

Just think about the Cost to the State if Just in the Lost Time if this were to take three Years - IMHO if they have incentivised it for one direction then they just need to also Add the incentive for the Other Direction.

May sound difficult but the reality is if enough $$$$$ is set out there for the Contractor most of us will figure out how to get our hands on it.

I now live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland - last year they choked down the traffic over the Bay Bridge causing us to not be able to get to Doctors or Retail shopping on the other side of the Bridge - The Contractor Proposed that if he could get an extra hour or two, to get the trucks to the Site (Keeping the Bridge Choked to One Lane, this action caused a 2-3 hour backup to get to the Bridge) he could save over a year in the time frame - Saving the Contractor and the State untold $$$$$.

The State allowed them the ability to have the needed access cutting the construction time in more than half - while the time we endured the lane choking was a PITA - having the work earned both the Contractor and the State Highway Department High Marks with the Population that uses the Bridge. Amazing what can happen if you just say "I think I Can" (Little engine that could)

While we love the Southwest corner of Colorado - we will likely have time to revisit the Northeast part of the State with these restrictions - as a side note - RT 133 is just an Incredible Drive - drove it again this summer and it was just Amazing - so much to see and do in Colorado, just hate to see the road Closed for even a Minute, as it too is Just a Beautiful Drive.

Hoping this is not nearly the Headache it sounds like,

There is an incentive for having the west end of the project open by the end of July 2021. This would allow us access to Montrose. Other than that not sure if there are any other incentives.
It will be an inconvenience to us as residents but the hwy is supposed to be open each weekend with both lanes of traffic. We are retired and can schedule our trips to town for the weekends but the business owners, doctors and nurses who work both in Montrose and Gunnison, and ranchers will be greatly affected by this. But CDOT and the state officials are all aware of this.
Best to avoid this area except for the weekends.

folivier wrote:
We have an RV lot where we spend the summers that is on the Alpine Plateau Rd 867 off of Hwy 50 and our access will be affected by this. We attended a meeting this summer in Montrose and of the 100 people that were allowed in the meeting over half were residents of our subdivision and the others were farmers, ranchers, doctors, nurses, and business owners who will be affected by these closures. CDOT representatives were not concerned with OUR concerns. Hwy 50 is the recommended route when I-70 is closed but CDOT said they will fully open Hwy 50 if I-70 is closed. Just an FYI for anyone traveling this area.

Just a side note - as a former State Highway and Interstate Highway Contractor - I would suggest the state up the ante, and incentivise the contract for finishing early - on a $40 million dollar contract say $10,000 + per day, giving the contractor the chance to earn up to say $2 million dollars for finishing 200 days early - while we were in business this was done on a few occasions, generally the contractor would maximize his profit by Earning most if not all of the incentive :)

Just a Thought,

We have an RV lot where we spend the summers that is on the Alpine Plateau Rd 867 off of Hwy 50 and our access will be affected by this. We attended a meeting this summer in Montrose and of the 100 people that were allowed in the meeting over half were residents of our subdivision and the others were farmers, ranchers, doctors, nurses, and business owners who will be affected by these closures. CDOT representatives were not concerned with OUR concerns. Hwy 50 is the recommended route when I-70 is closed but CDOT said they will fully open Hwy 50 if I-70 is closed. Just an FYI for anyone traveling this area.

FYI------RT 50 closing next Summer!

Links to the different explanations of construction.

https://www.codot.gov/projects/us-50-little-blue-creek-canyon

https://highways.dot.gov/federal-lands/projects/co/little-blue

MAP - Zoom in to see details - appears to be no work around!

Just one more note on this - if past projects are any indication of the True Time Line - this will likely run into Year three - Cottonwood Canyon Project and Fishing Bridge Project are just two examples of contractors not being able to meet the timeline set for in the Proposed Contract.

IMHO this will be a major issue for travel in Southwestern Colorado for the next few - or longer - Summer Seasons. Colorado residents should express their concerns to the Politicians, as this will have a significant financial impact on the Southern area of Colorado. for $40,000,000.00 Dollars. I would think you might just be able to dedicate enough resources to finish this in One Year!

Not sure many of you remember the issues, when I-70 was closed for Fires or for Rock slides in the Past - this is the work around that is generally prefered. So travel East and West in Colorado Could be strangled into very Few options in an Emergency.

Just one man's thoughts,

For those of us who Love Colorado - this will be a Big Deal.

Just a heads up... A stretch of US 50 will be closed for improvements between Montrose and Gunnison starting in April 2021.

https://highways.dot.gov/sites/fhwa.dot.gov/files/us-50-closure-placard.pdf