Expanded utility work, traffic impacts on Highway 6 & 24 in Dowd Junction

The Eagle River Water & Sanitation District recently issued the following press release on traffic impacts in Dowd Junction during sewer force main installation:

Starting Jun. 12, expanded utility work is scheduled in the Dowd Junction area that will bring additional traffic impacts.

During sewer force main installation for the Eagle River Water & Sanitation District’s ongoing Dowd Junction Collection System Improvements project, an anomaly was discovered on an adjacent natural gas utility, requiring prompt mobilization by energy utility crews to address the issue. Multiple contractors and utility companies are working closely with Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) personnel to ensure safety for the travelling public and to minimize traffic interruptions.

Work on the existing ERWSD project is largely located between the travel lanes and the Eagle River, enabling two-way traffic on US Highway 6 and 24 unless flagging is required for equipment or truck movements. The added energy utility work requires excavation further into the roadway, which will require flagging during working hours and potential traffic control measures at nighttime.

Motorists are urged to drive slowly and carefully and yield to bicycles through the area. Bicyclists must follow all signage and traffic controls in the area and stay out of the construction area for their safety.

This work is part of a large, multi-year $17 million project to improve aging and undersized infrastructure in the wastewater collection system in Dowd Junction.

Phase I began in Aug. 2020 near the intersection of U.S. Highway 24 and County Road in Minturn and included a new pedestrian bridge that extended the Eagle Valley Trail system. Construction of Phase II began in spring 2021 to replace the sewer main that crosses the Eagle River upstream of the Gore Valley Trail bridge and construct a new utility bridge to support it across the river. The current Phase III work includes the construction of a new lift station across from the Forest Service building to replace the nearby existing one, a new gravity sewer main from the County Road bridge in Minturn to the new lift station, and two force (pressurized) sewer mains between the lift station and the Gore Valley Trail Bridge in Dowd Junction. As with Phase I, the end of Phase III includes a partnership with Eagle County’s ECO Trails, this time to connect the bike trail from Minturn to the Gore Valley Trail intersection.

Project completion and full restoration of the roadway is expected in late summer or fall of 2023. This project is funded by customer wastewater rates and property assessments, with the trail portion of the work funded by Eagle County. The project engineers are HDR Engineering, Murraysmith, and Otak. The Phase III contractor is Gould Construction. 

For more information, visit www.erwsd.org or contact district customer service at 970-477-5451.