During the monthly Crystal River Caucus meeting on July 10, Pitkin County presented plans to demolish and replace the southern Redstone bridge in 2026.
Overlooked by the Redstone Inn and located across from Coke Ovens Open Space, the two-lane bridge serves as the most direct entrance into the Redstone business district from Highway 133. The northern bridge, approximately 1.6 miles away from the village’s main thoroughfare, will serve as Redstone’s only entrance and exit during construction.
After advertising for a contract this winter, Pitkin County plans on demolishing the current bridge in March before the spring runoff begins. Construction of the new bridge would then continue through the summer with completion anticipated in October. The new design will ensure the Redstone business district has a safe, flood-secure entrance for the next 75 years.
In 2022, representatives from design consulting firm SGM were hired by Pitkin County to aid in formulating a county-wide Bridge Assessment Management Study in which the Redstone bridge was identified as a top priority to replace due to its age and the cost of repair.
After field work in the summer of 2024, Pitkin County held a predesign phase during which the team considered constructing an alternative alignment bridge beside the existing bridge such that traffic interruptions could be kept to a minimum. However, the team determined that an alternate alignment bridge would not significantly improve the traffic impact, be too costly and have too great an impact on the wetlands adjacent to Highway 133. Instead, the bridge will be completely replaced where it stands.
After a public outreach phase at the beginning of this year, Pitkin County drafted a preferred design alternative with feedback from the Redstone community, which the team presented during the July 10 meeting. Andrew Knapp, Pitkin County engineer and former resident engineer for the Colorado Department of Transportation in the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys, led the presentation along with Mark Frymoyer, bridge team leader for SGM.
According to Knapp, Pitkin County has been coordinating with local utilities such as Holy Cross Energy and Pitkin County Telecommunications to create a design which will accommodate any necessary improvements in the future.
Along with new paving and guardrails, the bridge’s design features a raised 10-foot concrete sidewalk on its north side. The sidewalk will neatly align with the existing footpath to Elk Park next to Highway 133. Both ends of the sidewalk will terminate with domed yellow ADA slopes. This new sidewalk will increase safety for pedestrians parking along Highway 133 or traveling between Redstone and Coke Ovens Open Space.
The new bridge design does not feature permanent lighting features, but it does have power outlets for ease of hanging string lights along the bridge during the holiday season.
In terms of safety features, the new bridge’s design will lack the middle pier present in the current bridge. The middle pier, if damaged, presents a risk of total structure loss in the event of exceptional flooding. The new bridge will also be raised by two feet above FEMA 100-year flood elevation as an extra safety measure, allowing debris to flow under the bridge during such an event.
Frymoyer stated that during construction, signage will be installed encouraging visitors to park in Elk Park and walk over the footbridge into town. In order to discourage speeding, flashing, speed-detecting signs will be installed along Redstone Boulevard from the north bridge into the business district. According to Knapp, the sheriff’s department will also lend a hand in monitoring Redstone Boulevard for speeding.
The team is considering a temporary traffic signal at the north bridge during particularly busy parts of the year.
For semi-trucks delivering goods, Frymoyer stated the team has determined that large vehicles are able to loop around Firehouse Road and Osgood Drive to get in and out of the business district.
The construction team will continue to reach out to the Redstone community over the next few months as the design is finalized in order to ensure that Redstone has a safe, convenient and welcoming entrance for the remainder of the century.