Briefs Gunnison County

County to conduct road maintenance in Crested Butte South
Gunnison County will work with the Crested Butte South Metropolitan District to chip seal at least two roads in the area. The district will be responsible for paying for the chips and oil to be used in the resealing of Cascadilla and Teocalli roads, while the county will pay for labor and equipment. Gunnison County Public Works director Marlene Crosby told the County Commissioners at a July 2 meeting that the project would require about a day’s labor, and that she would work to coordinate it with similar work on Slate River Road to reduce overall costs.

Taylor Road construction going well
After a brief reopening of the entire Taylor River Road for the long Fourth of July weekend, closures are now back in place and construction is continuing on the road between Almont and Jack’s Cabin. According to Crosby, the construction and associated detour over Jack’s Cabin cut-off is proceeding well. “The sheriff’s department is helping to patrol the cut-off, and it’s helpful to have their presence to control speed,” said Crosby, adding that all the non-resident traffic on the unpaved road is also helping control speed.

Courthouse project moving forward
County manager Matthew Birnie has given the go-ahead to architects working on a proposal for additions and renovations to the historic Gunnison County courthouse to move forward on design. According to Birnie, the county is hoping to have the architects’ final plans by September of this year and will be aiming to temporarily relocate county staff to off-site offices before Christmas. Construction on the courthouse is expected to take about a year from start to finish.

Trails Commission works to connect Crested Butte South to Brush Creek Road, put in trail from Elk Ave. to CBCS
The Gunnison County Trails Commission recently spoke before the Colorado Department of Transportation, and managed to get plans for a connecting trail between Brush Creek Road and Crested Butte South on the agency’s long-term radar.
“We’ve looked at lots of potential ways to connect the dots from Brush Creek Road to Crested Butte South, of course the most desirable route would be along the hillside, but that’s just not going to happen for lots of reason,” said Trails Commission board member Jake Jones. “So we’ve kind of shifted gears to more of a highway-side shared use recreational path like many of the ones seen throughout Colorado along highways.”
According to Crosby, the project is still a ways out, but the next step may be looking at where the trail will have to cross-drainages and rivers.
In the more immediate future, the Trails Commission will be working to build an eight-foot-wide gravel path with 600 feet of boardwalk from the east end of Elk Avenue to the Crested Butte Community School this summer.