A pedestrian bridge over Castle Creek Road near Aspen was damaged this summer. Now it’s getting fixed, which means the road will be closed to traffic later this month.
On June 18th an oversized construction vehicle clipped the the bridge on its way up Castle Creek Road. The wooden bridge connects two open spaces. The truck ripped off part of the support structure on the bridge’s underside. Matt Kuhn is the City of Aspen Trails Manager.
"It was a construction company dump truck with a trailer," he says. "The trailer had track-hoe on the back and it was the “arm” of the track-hoe that cleared the first part of the bridge and hit the southern girder."
The city’s insurance will cover the $80,000 price tag to fix the bridge. The driver of the truck that did the damage wasn't ticketed. The bridge repair means Castle Creek Road will be fully closed for one hour Monday, October 26th. And, one hour two days later, on October 29th. Both closures are scheduled from 11 am to noon. During the repairs, a crane will remove the bridge, truck it to an off-site area, rebuilt it and then truck it back.
Aspen Valley Hospital is located on Castle Creek Road. City officials say the hospital has been aware of the impending closure for weeks. When the road is closed, fire and emergency crews will be accessible on both sides of the closure.