The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
GoCo Grant could provide funding for major renovation
The Gunnison River Whitewater Park may soon get a facelift, including safety and design updates to the park’s man-made structures.
According to Marlene Crosby, Gunnison County director of Public Works, the county has applied for a Great Outdoors Colorado (GoCo) grant to fund the project, and the status of the application should be announced in May.
“Maintenance work to keep Structure #3 safe will be on-going, but the repair/replacement will not happen until funding is available,” said Crosby.
The whitewater park is located just west of the Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport on the main stem of the Gunnison River. The park, which was constructed in two phases—the first in 2002 and the second in 2010—is roughly a quarter mile in length and is comprised of three primary features and several smaller deflectors made from boulders and grout.
According to the county, the park has experienced structural, sediment transport and hydraulic performance problems in the years since its construction. Several attempts have previously been made to correct these problems, but more work is needed, said Crosby.
Last year, the county brought in the McLaughlin Whitewater Design Group to assist in evaluating the park and determining necessary steps to increase safety and function. They found several areas of concern at Feature 2 and Feature 3 in the park. Specifically, at Feature 3, the feature of most concern, the group found “widespread and extensive damage to the structure; high probability of complete or partial structure failure in the near future.”
Due to this, McLaughlin recommended Feature 3 be the county’s priority, and that the county move to repair the feature and construct a counter-weir as soon as practical. In a report to the county, the group wrote, “Temporary measures to shore up the structure may be prudent.”
The budget for the improvements to Feature 3 would likely be between $240,000 and $400,000. The counter-weir could cost an additional $40,000 to $60,000. If awarded, the GoCo grant would cover about $325,000 of that amount, with the remainder to be made up by matching funds from area stakeholders. Improvements to Feature 2 could cost an additional $200,000 to $330,000.
“The impetus behind the whitewater park was to attract river enthusiasts,” said Crosby, adding that several mountain towns have whitewater parks that are major visitor draws during the summer months. “The county continues to see the park as an important recreational asset to the community.”
While waiting to hear if its grant application is successful, the county is working to hire contractors to map the river bottom at the park’s location. The information garnered by this mapping will provide the foundation for future work at the park.
“Even if we don’t end up making the changes to the park this year, having the maps completed will be useful in the future,” said County Commissioner Jonathan Houck.
