Kebler still open despite the snow

“Expect winter driving conditions”

By Katherine Nettles

As promised, Gunnison County Public Works is doing all it can to keep Kebler Pass Road (County Road 12) open until Thanksgiving. The effort has been extended this year past the usual first few snowstorms of fall when the county normally stops plowing past the Irwin turn off. This is to allow for easier travel to the west of Crested Butte while the final US 50 bridge near Blue Mesa Reservoir is being repaired and travel is restricted. 

Gunnison County public works director Martin Schmidt said this week that the extended plowing schedule for Kebler is going well so far, despite some early season storms coming through. 

“Kebler is just fine to travel for this time of year, but people should expect to encounter winter driving conditions. There are areas with packed snow and some muddy spots, but it will likely be easy to keep it open for another week,” said Schmidt. There have not been any notable incidents on the roadway as people take advantage of the final opportunities to access Pitkin County and beyond via the 30-mile drive, and to enjoy the early season skiing at Lily Lake.

 “The Thanksgiving week forecast looks to bring us a bit of snow that might make keeping it open hard, but if it’s feasible, we want to keep it open until both bridges are fully open to traffic,” Schmidt said.  

Schmidt added that the US 50 bridge repair projects are having little effect on the traffic this time of year, “Especially since this is one of the slower times in the valley right before ski season kicks off.”