Major construction project on Hwy 82 will impact summer travel through Snowmass Canyon

Colorado Highway 82 travelers should expect a summer of traffic impacts through Snowmass Canyon, with delay intensity ebbing and flowing over the season. 

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will embark on a months-long construction project that targets bridge expansion joints, asphalt, guardrail replacement, striping, and ADA-compliant curb ramps from mile marker 26 to 33 — about Woody Creek to the Snowmass Conoco — starting May 13 and lasting through October. 

Over the project’s schedule, CDOT-contracted Elam Construction will work somewhere along the 7-mile site from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday-Friday. CDOT has scheduled the construction in waves in an attempt to focus the heaviest traffic impacts ahead of the July 4 holiday. 

The first wave of the construction will target guardrail and ADA improvements at Snowmass Creek Watson Divide and Aspen Village roads.

The work will start May 13, with single-lane traffic and 15-minute delays. To accommodate peak traffic impacts, all lanes will be open for Hwy 82 eastbound lanes from 6-9 a.m. and Hwy 82 westbound lanes from 3-6 p.m. 

The project’s next phase will focus on bridge work at six locations — the most intensive stretch of the project. Travelers should expect 24/7 single-lane closures in both directions with up to 40-minute delays to travel through the canyon. 

That period of bridge work and 24/7 lane closures is scheduled to begin in late May or early June and must conclude before July 4 — the peak of summer activity in Aspen. 

“We really appreciate everyone’s patience. The bridge work is required to be done before July 4,” said Elise Thatcher, CDOT’s Region 3 communications manager. “We want to make sure those impacts don’t move into the high tourist season.”

After the bridge work is complete, Elam Construction will begin resurfacing work and finish up the project. 

At least one lane will be open at all times for emergency vehicles to pass through. CDOT said the route the vehicles take is up to them.

Total project completion, with removal of equipment and no traffic impacts, is expected for October. 

How the RFV is preparing

Brian Pettet, public works director for Pitkin County, said his team is preparing for increased impact to county roads surrounding the construction zone. 

“We foresee people taking county roads as informal detours,” he said. “When 82 is shut down, people tend to find the path of least resistance.

Public Works is on schedule to complete maintenance work on Watson Divide, East Sopris Creek, and Upper and Lower River roads to brace for the anticipated traffic increase.

They plan to monitor traffic levels on the roads with the help of the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office.

The county worked with CDOT designing the construction schedule, Pettet said, acknowledging there’s no such thing as a good time to institute lane closures on Hwy 82. 

“I think the schedule will get the work done in the least amount of time with the least impact to the public,” he said. 

With two other construction projects scheduled this summer on county roads — a culvert project on Sopris Creek Road and chip and seal surface treatment project on Snowmass Creek Road — he said they are working on schedules to minimize traffic impacts.

“You don’t want competing projects for people traveling to and from Aspen,” he said. 

For the Roaring Fork Transit Authority, riders will be notified of construction delays and schedule impacts via the service alert system. Schedules will remain unchanged, but riders can live-track their bus and get estimated arrival times. Riders can sign up through their account or at myrfta.com.

“RFTA will be committed to deploying backup buses strategically to mitigate the impact of the construction project on our services and riders during the project,” said RFTA Communications Manager Jamie Tatsuno in an email. “Overall travel times and planned schedules will remain unchanged to preserve a semblance of reliability for departures from Aspen and Glenwood Springs during this period.”

Pettet advises the public to travel outside of peak traffic hours as they’re able, especially during the bridge work portion of the project. 

As CDOT is responsible for Hwy 82, the construction project falls entirely under its budget.