City of Aspen requests more information for Castle Creek Bridge improvements, replacement
Jonson Kuhn/The Aspen Times
After hearing staff’s update regarding data collected from the latest Castle Creek Bridge inspection, Aspen City Council determined they would need to hear more information in a later work session before providing staff with further direction.
From S curve modifications, pedestrian route on current alignment, and improvements to the roundabout, Mayor Torre was joined unanimously by council members in expressing concerns over many unanswered questions about the true impacts or effectiveness of the improvement opportunities.
“I think that this deserves a little bit more discussion,” Mayor Torre said. “I think that our community is looking at the realism, realistic opportunities here and I think that people will be able to make a decision one way or another. But before we go further, we’d like to have another work session where those answers come back to us for a little bit more clarity.”
During Monday’s meeting, Director of Transportation and Parking Pete Rice, Mobility Division Manager Lynn Rumbaugh and Senior Project Manager Carly McGowan went before Council to review results of the Jacobs Engineering review of the existing bridge, as well as provide an understanding of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and conceptual design of S-Curve softening.
Last August, Council approved a $541,840 contract with Jacobs for consultant services related to an investigation of the existing Castle Creek Bridge, its replacement, and procedural information regarding the NEPA. Council approved the contract to answer questions related to the existing bridge based on community feedback and questions during the awareness process, as well as determine factors that Colorado Department of Transportation did not address during the bridge’s last assessment.
During the last week of November, Jacobs Engineering evaluated the existing Castle Creek Bridge to identify concerns that the community and Council requested in 2023. The consulting team is evaluating the feasibility of either rehabilitating or replacing the Colorado Highway 82 bridge over Castle Creek and Power Plant Road.
With the Castle Creek Bridge being built in 1961, it has a design life of 50 years with a service life of 75 years. However, inspections of the 63-year-old bridge have identified several issues, including signs of wear and major deterioration and corrosion of structural steel and concrete bridge components.
The assessment for Castle Creek Bridge has designated the bridge as functionally obsolete, meaning the deck geometry, load-carrying capacity, clearance, or approach roadway alignment no longer meet the current standards for the highway system of which the bridge is an integral part.
In 2022, CDOT rated the bridge as “fair” with a score of 50.3 out of 100. Once a bridge falls under the 50.0 threshold, it’s then considered to be “poor.” According to CDOT records, extensive repairs and rehabilitation efforts were implemented on the bridge in 2011 to improve the condition code of the bridge. Despite these substantial rehabilitation efforts, they were only sufficient to elevate the superstructure to a “Fair” code.
Aspen City Manager Sara Ott said Council’s additional information request will be at least 90 days until brought back to another work session, potentially this July.
To reach Jonson Kuhn, email him at jkuhn@aspentimes.com.
