IDAHO SPRINGS — Holiday cheer in this old mining town is being muted by frustration over a stalled bridge project that is choking off the traffic and commerce that usually pour in this month.
The bridge demolition over Interstate 70 has cut off the main access to historic downtown Idaho Springs for Denver-bound motorists, and the two-month delay will hit during the town’s busiest time of year.
Work to replace the Colorado 103 bridge (exit 240) was halted in November when excavation workers found a pocket of groundwater with high levels of lead and iron. That set off a process to dispose of the groundwater and reset the opening of the new bridge from mid-November to the week of Jan. 12.
Town officials say the delay could ruin downtown businesses that usually profit from skiers, tourists and others who descend into the town of 2,000 for Christmas shopping, food and entertainment.
“A lot of people, especially those who really don’t know we are here, will go past and just head for Denver instead of stopping in and checking things out,” said Larry Nemnich, president of Tommyknocker Brewery & Pub, a downtown fixture for 20 years. “Jan. 12 really doesn’t do us any good. The holidays are gone and people are starting to worry about tax season and bills.
“It all could mean a lot of the smaller businesses here could be shut down for good.”
About 30 Idaho Springs residents were told Thursday night at a meeting at city hall that transportation officials will mount a media blitz to boost local tourism.
“Wherever we can we’ll get info out about how to get to your businesses,” said Tony DeVito, project director for the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Dan Ebert, owner of Two Brothers Deli on Miner Street and chairman of the Clear Creek Economic Development Corporation, said he’s seen business drop almost 25 percent since crews started taking down the bridge in late October. It was supposed to be replaced in six weeks.
“I’ve cut my labor by 30 percent over the last four payroll periods,” said Ebert, who sends his workers home earlier now because he can’t afford to pay them in what should be his busy season. “I’m paying out $1,000 less to my employees than last year, and that’s $1,000 not being reinvested into our community.”
Clear Creek County Commissioner Tim Mauck thinks the Colorado Department of Transportation contractor doing the bridge work, Mountain Corridor Constructors, should have known about the contamination and dealt with it sooner.
Mauck posted on Facebook recently that the “incompetency” of the contractor is to blame for the bridge delay. Even with access at the exit for westbound traffic on I-70, long-term economic losses, Mauck said, could be significant.
“The delay at exit 240 in Idaho Springs is unacceptable and particularly hurtful,” Mauck said.
He also echoes the sentiments of many around town who say Idaho Springs has endured the brunt of several high-profile projects along the I-70 mountain corridor, including the widening of both bores of the Twin Tunnels. That project started in 2013 and will be finished Sunday when both tunnels are reopened and officially named the Veterans Memorial Tunnels.
The bridge demolition is part of the $72 million project to build an eastbound I-70 peak-period shoulder lane, which will be used to accommodate periods of high-volume traffic. It will most likely be a toll lane.
Most residents have been happy to accommodate CDOT’s plans because it will help unclog traffic moving eastbound on the interstate, Mauck said.
“In Idaho Springs, Georgetown and Clear Creek County, we’ve had two steady years of large-scale construction going on in our backyards,” Mauck said. “And for the most part we have asked for it.”
But the near two-month delay during Idaho Springs’ peak season “just hit at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Mauck said.
CDOT spokeswoman Amy Ford said the contaminated water probably was a holdover from historic heavy mining activity in the area and added that the size of the deposit couldn’t have been anticipated.
“Obviously the timing on this project was bad, but we are moving as fast as we can,” Ford said.
She said neither CDOT nor the state will compensate businesses for any lost revenue during the bridge shutdown delay. Officials from the Mountain Corridor contractors were not made available for comment.
Ford said CDOT has spent $40,000 in new electronic signs on I-70 to warn eastbound motorists about the exit 240 shutdown and to advise them to take exit 239 instead. The agency is also using social media to get the word out about the exit change.
To help move along the water cleanup, CDOT is working directly with the town’s Public Works sanitary system.
“We’ve been able to remove and treat the water quicker than anticipated thanks to Idaho Springs issuing a permit that allows the water to be discharged directly into their sewage system,” Mountain Corridor Constructors project director Meraj Ahmed said.
Dewatering is scheduled to be complete this week.
Once all the water has been removed, precast bridge panels and girders that are now being poured at an off-site yard in Denver will be trucked in and installed at the end of the December, Ford said, with the goal of the mid-January reopening.
In the meantime, business owners and officials hope people won’t bypass Idaho Springs altogether.
“Please tell people we are still here,” Nemnich said, “and they shouldn’t forget about us.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907, mwhaley@denverpost.com or twitter.com/montewhaley
