Briefs: Gunnison County

By Katherine Nettles

County facing $38M in road and bridge improvement costs

Gunnison County commissioners are grappling with the continual shortfall of road and bridge funding for Gunnison County, and on Tuesday heard a presentation from Martin Schmidt, Gunnison County assistant county manager for public works, and consultants from KLJ Engineering, which has worked with Schmidt for the past year to create a comprehensive report of the existing conditions of roadways, bridges and traffic impacts in the county. 

Due to state statute restrictions on how the county can fund its road and bridges and subsequent deferred maintenance over the past 20-plus years, KLJ estimated that the county would need to spend $38 million to perform all recommended improvements. That does not account for inflation or potential cost increases due to tariffs on materials. The annual cost for road and bridge maintenance/repair is projected to be $1.907 million by 2045. Commissioners are considering a short-list of most acute needs for a next step and hope to determine by July 2025 whether to go to voters with a ballot initiative this fall. A ballot initiative would offer dedicated road and bridge maintenance funding through tax increases.