CDOT to inspect Castle Creek Bridge next week

A section of the Castle Creek Bridge’s underbelly is shown in this photo from August. CDOT will conduct an inspection of the bridge next week. The Colorado Department of Transportation will conduct a routine inspection on the Castle Creek Bridge on Wednesday.

CDOT inspects the bridge every two years. A 2022 inspection gave the bridge a “fair” rating (50.3 out of 100).



The rating system changed since the last inspection, and the bridge will now be rated on a scale of 1-10. If the bridge falls below a rating of five, CDOT could put weight limits on vehicles crossing the bridge. But Aspen Director of Parking and Transportation Pete Rice said he doesn’t expect a significant rating downgrade that would lead to extra safety measures on the bridge.

“It’s really CDOT’s bridge ...

but just because this has been such a topic of discussion in the city, I think it’s prudent to say I haven’t seen anything new developing and I do go check it pretty regularly,” Rice said. “This is a totally normal procedure for CDOT staff and for the bridge.” A fall 2023 special inspection of the bridge conducted by the city also rated it as “fair.

” A one-lane closure on the bridge will occur between 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.

m Wednesday. CDOT will manage alternating traffic flows to allow vehicles to travel both inbound and outbound. Inspectors will look at the steel structure of the bridge, the abutments (structures that connect the bridge to the ground) and the deck.

Some pieces of the inspection may take place outside of the 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.

m. window, but that would not require lane closures, Rice said. The city is encouraging residents and commuters to anticipate delays during the inspection process and to take advantage of alternate transportation like buses or bicycles to minimize traffic impacts.

The inspection helps CDOT understand the condition of the various components of the bridge that contribute to its overall rating, which CDOT uses for future planning purposes. It’s coming at a time when local leaders are deciding what the best course of action is for the aging Castle Creek Bridge. The bridge is 10 years past its 50-year design life.

For the past few months, the Aspen City Council has been discussing what the path forward looks like for the bridge. Council is torn on the current replacement options, and the members ultimately decided against putting a question about the bridge on the November ballot. Aspen’s 1998 Record of Decision, a federal- and state-approved document, proposed a realignment for Highway 82 that would replace the Castle Creek Bridge once it reached the end of its useful life.

The realignment, called the preferred alternative, would reroute Highway 82 over a portion of the Marolt Open Space to cross Castle Creek and bypass the S-curves to merge directly with Main Street. CDOT has previously said it would begin work on the preferred alternative if the Castle Creek Bridge failed. The inspection is not expected to find anything suggesting the bridge’s failure, Rice said.

But some council and community members oppose the preferred alternative and instead want the city to pursue other alternatives. Those include a split-shot design that would route inbound traffic over the existing highway alignment and the S-curves, while outbound traffic would flow over a new bridge and cross the open space. Some council members support replacing the existing bridge with either a two- or three-lane bridge.

The 1998 ROD found the preferred alternative to be the most effective in increasing transit capacity. Implementing the preferred alternative would first require a public vote in Aspen to allow the construction of bus lanes over the Marolt Open Space. The 2022 and 2023 inspections found “no impending failures,” Aspen Senior Project Manager Jenn Ooton told the Aspen City Council during a Sept.

10 council meeting. But she said more repairs are likely as the bridge deteriorates further. “As we get closer to the end of the bridge’s useful life, most repairs are likely and the frequency of those repairs is expected to increase, but I think we’re seeing some concerns from residents about the state of the bridge,” Ooton said during the meeting.

Results from the upcoming Wednesday inspection will be available in November..