Contact: Tom Gosiorowski, Summit County Public Works Director, 970-668-4202

SUMMIT COUNTY – Summit County Road & Bridge has begun work on the Soda Creek culvert replacement project in Summit Cove. Crews will remove several side-by-side aging steel culvert pipes and replace them with a small bridge structure. Construction will last about one month and will require a full closure of Summit Drive at the site, beginning Wednesday, Oct. 2.

The existing steel pipes are beginning to corrode, and installations of multiple side-by-side pipes are prone to erosion that can lead to settlement or failure of the roadway. The new bridge will allow higher flows of water from Soda Creek to pass through, providing the road with greater protection from being washed out in the event of severe flooding.

The bridge will also allow for a wider road surface, which will provide space for pedestrian and bicycle shoulders. Along with the culvert replacement, crews will repave the last segment of older, degraded road surface on the Cove Boulevard-Summit Drive loop.

Summit County anticipates the construction to be fully complete before winter. While the project is underway, the road within the project area will be completely closed to all traffic, and detours will be posted.

"Summit County Road & Bridge thanks the residents of the Summit Cove area for their patience during this project," Summit County Public Works Director Tom Gosiorowski said. "The end product will be a major improvement for the roadway and the stream."

For more information, contact Eric Cottingham in the Summit County Road & Bridge Department at 970-668-4232.

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