Popular Colorado Springs park road set to reopen June 1
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Outdoor enthusiasts will soon regain access through a popular Colorado Springs park.
City officials say a section of North Cheyenne Cañon Road, that's been closed for bridge repairs since September, is set to reopen just after Memorial Day.
The city chose to close that three-mile stretch of the road on the city's southwest side because it needed major safety upgrades, including the rebuilding of three bridges that were more than a century old.
“It’s been hard for everyone involved — particularly for the cañon residents who live west of the bridge project," said Gayle Sturdivant, the city's deputy city manager. "We’ve had to do a lot of extensive coordination with them to make sure they can get deliveries, such as propane, up to their homes.”
Nearly two dozen families live along the upper part of the winding mountain road, she said, and they had keypad access to an automatic gate to get in and out.
"They (bridges) are designed to carry modern truckloads, like for propane tanks or construction materials," Sturdivate explained. "Also a fire truck or some other emergency vehicle. They are slightly wider than what was existing previously."
The road is popular for its access to Helen Hunt Falls, several trails and scenic areas, and a number of parking lots and pull-offs that made it easy for visitors to explore the park.
Before last fall's nine-month closure, the road was also closed twice between January and May so that workers could improve and expand a parking lot above the falls, and build a bypass road beside the bridge with the lowest weight limit for emergency and construction vehicles to use.
All of the improvements cost around $7 million, financed by local and state funds.
The bridge construction surprised some hikers on nearby trails Thursday.
"I'd never driven up this road past the nature center," said David McDaniel, a Monument resident who recently visited the park for the first time. "I don't know how far up it goes but when they're done with it, I'm going to definitely come back and check it out."
Tuesday also was the first visit for Joyce and Roger Bastow, of Wichita, Kansas.
"We came up and found out it was closed," Joyce said. "It was disappointing. I was a little crabby."
But her husband had more curiosity about the project.
"Bridges lasting 100 years, being replaced," Roger said. "A whole century for a bridge, that's impressive. Hopefully, the construction here lasts for another 100 years."
Workers said that they're using native materials for most of the construction.
During construction, the only way to drive to the upper section of the park is on Gold Camp Road -- which some visitors have had to share with cement trucks going to and from the bridges.
