The City of Grand Junction and its contractor will begin improvements to the Colorado riverfront trail, between Hale Avenue within the Riverside Neighborhood, and South 7th Street, on the east side of the 5th Street/Hwy 50 overpass. The closure will begin on Monday, March 1st, and remain closed for approximately six weeks. The anticipated reopening date of the trail is the week of April 5th. The primary reason for this temporary closure will be for the installation of the new 12-foot-wide concrete segments of the riverfront trail, which will replace deteriorated asphalt portions of the trail. In addition to new concrete segments, new pedestrian lighting will be installed along the trail, which requires parallel trenching adjacent to the trail for the installation of new light poles. The Riverfront Trail will soon have lighting through the Riverside neighborhood, and all throughout the Dos Rios development.
Bicycle and pedestrian traffic that normally utilize this portion of the riverfront trail, shall be directed along the detached sidewalk, adjacent to Riverside Parkway. For those traveling east along the parkway, users will be directed up and over the 5th Street overpass and re-connect with the trail by way of S. 7th Street. For those traveling west along the parkway, the detour will continue northwest along the parkway, then direct trail users to the intersection of Lawrence and Fairview Avenues, within the Riverside neighborhood, then turn west along Fairview Avenue until it connects with the riverfront trail, next to the Colorado River. For the first two weeks of the closure, additional trenching shall be excavated along the north and south sides of the bicycle playground, which is necessary for completing the dry utilities along Dos Rios Court, and the lighting along the riverfront trail.
As soon as the utility trenching adjacent to the bicycle playground is completed, a temporary connection from the Riverside Parkway to the riverfront trail will be installed on the east side of the bicycle playground. The temporary connection will modify the detour route in both directions, allowing users to reconnect with the riverfront trail, and travel under the 5th street bridge, as is the original route of the trail. We anticipate the temporary connection will be open for use by March 13th.
Work will take place Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. The overall trail closure will take approximately six weeks to complete, with the temporary trail connection and detour modification completed within two weeks, pending any special circumstances.
Advanced notification will be given if any additional access must be temporarily closed during daytime hours.
The Contractor will provide traffic control and adequate detour signage to help trail users through and around the work area, if needed.
Please exercise caution around the construction equipment and follow all traffic warning signs in the work areas.
Contact: Greg LeBlanc, Sr. Assistant to the City Manager | 970-244 1557 or gregoryl@gjcity.org