Kebler Road still not ready for traffic

Crews struggling with weather…so maybe Memorial Day?

By Katherine Nettles

The continued inclement weather this spring has caused more delays for getting Kebler Pass Road open for the season. Gunnison County public works crews have been thwarted by rain and snow as they try to finish preparing the road for through traffic. It is not certain if the road will be ready to open even in time for its usual Memorial Day weekend schedule. 

“We had hopes to have the road open by Memorial Day weekend, but basically lost all of the progress we had made to the road surface with the storm over the weekend,” said Gunnison County public works director Martin Schmidt. The storms of last weekend dropped anywhere from two to four feet of snow, and high winds created large wind drifts even as crews picked up downed trees and plowed away snow from the previous week.

Schmidt reported that culvert repair work has been successful, however. 

“Currently about 20 miles of the pass are muddy and extremely saturated and not safe for public travel.”