A neighborhood meeting was called Friday morning at the Lumpy Ridge Publick House to provide area stakeholders with information about the Cleave Street Improvements Project.
Work on the street improvement project was put on hold in May to accommodate the summer guest season and it resumed Oct. 21.
Businesses on W. Elkhorn Avenue that use Cleave Street for back door deliveries and residents who live in buildings on the street can expect to experience access disruptions over the next few months as the street undergoes major infrastructure work.
People who attended the meeting, including Mayor Gary Hall, Trustee Mark Igel, who owns The Taffy Shop at 121 W. Elkhorn Ave., and Carissa Streib, owner of Simply Christmas at 129 W. Elkhorn Ave., stressed the importance of good communication so businesses and residents who need access to Cleave Street can plan around the construction.
Jeff Bailey, the Town of Estes Park’s engineer, Jamin Rucker, the town’s civil engineer, and Cesar Gonzalez, the project manager with ABC Asphalt, were on hand to answer questions about the project timeline which will affect access to the area during the Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping season and into the New Year.
The infrastructure project includes utility replacement and relocations which involves trenching and conduit installation, milling the surface of the street to remove the old asphalt, removing the existing curb, gutter, and sidewalk, installing necessary sediment and erosion control measures, and repaving.
Cleave Street was identified as a prime location for redevelopment in the 2018 Estes Park Downtown Plan in order facilitate better access to encourage economic growth.
Because Cleave Street is narrow and sloped, it has not been easy for pedestrians, cyclists, or individuals with disabilities to navigate. The street has a significant history of drainage problems with rain and melting snow. The pitch of the street allows ice to build up by the back entrances to the buildings that front W. Elkhorn Avenue. Additionally, aging utilities needed to be upgraded and relocated.
Plans for the project were stalled in 2020 due to COVID and put on the back burner in 2021 as the Town’s Comprehensive Plan was completed. Planning moved forward again in 2022 and was given approval by the Town Board in early 2023.
A year ago, Estes Park Sanitation began replacing sewer lines under Cleave Street. Utility replacements, including underground and overhead electric lines and gas began.
However, due to what is described on the project’s webpage as “an unfortunate breakdown in communication,” between the town and the NACC Construction, the Xcel Energy Contractor, progress hit significant delays.
Additionally telecommunications and services were interrupted when a subcontractor inadvertently severed lines and then utility relocation work prohibited the road contractor from starting work in early March.
Late winter and early spring weather conditions caused further delays before the project was halted to accommodate the summer tourist season. At this time, it is expected the project will be substantially completed in May 2025.
When finished, Cleave Street will be transformed from what has looked like an alley into a stamped and colored concrete street flanked by a pedestrian walking area. It is envisioned that the infrastructure and road work will spur mixed use retail and residential development.
The project is being funded with Street Improvement Funds from the one percent sales tax approved by voters under the 2014 Ballot Issue 1A. Voters approved an extension of the 1A Ballot Issue this year through 2034.
Over the next two months, the Town’s Power and Communications Division will complete utility work on the west end of Cleave Street as the roadway improvements contractor, ABC Asphalt, works on the east end.
To facilitate the utility and roadway work, on-street parking has been prohibited within the Cleave Street right of way.
One of the topics at Friday morning’s neighborhood meeting was how deliveries to Cleave Street businesses will be accommodated, and how access to residents and parking on private property will be facilitated.
While city planners hope the redevelopment will accomplish goals set forth in the 2018 Estes Park Downtown Plan, area merchants expressed concerns that some 30 existing parking spaces will be lost.
While there have been discussions about building a multi-tiered parking structure in the area, initial costs for the design came in above budget and at this time there are no immediate plans for construction of any additional parking facilities to replace lost parking or increase parking spaces on the westside of town.
Because the project includes extensive concrete work that will extend right up to the entrances of buildings, there will be periods between 7 to 10 days when concrete is curing and vehicles, including delivery trucks, will not be allowed to drive on Cleve Street.
To help affected businesses and residents, a detailed project timeline has been developed. Town Administrator Travis Machalek will explore how to best share this information and project updates.
Participants at the meeting suggested that the timeline should be posted to the website and that business owners, residents, and interested community members could receive emails and text messages to alert them to updates.
The Town Board will receive a project update at its Nov. 26 meeting and another neighborhood meeting to share information about the project’s progress and discuss issues of concern will be set for early December.
Contacts and information
For more information, community members can contact Civil Engineer Jamin Rucker at 970-577-3736 or jrucker@estes.org, or Town Engineer Jeff Bailey at 970-577-3586 or jbailey@estes.org.
Cesar Gonzalez is the project manager for ABC Asphalt. He can be reached at 720-768-8688 or cesar@abcasphaltco.com.
The Town has also contracted with Empire Management, Inc. for Construction Management services. Jon Erickson will be on site each day that construction activities are take place and he is authorized to help resolve any issues that arise during construction. Erickson can be reached at 970-290-6503 or jon@empiremgmt.com.
To access information about all current Public Works projects click here, and to read about the Cleave Street Improvements click here.