Last week, the City of Gunnison began renovating the aging pedestrian bridge located on the northwest side of the Van Tuyl trail.
To reduce the amount of time the trail is cut off, the current bridge will be moved south to allow pedestrians to use the loop while a new one is installed. The portion of the VanTuyl loop that crosses over the bridge will close on Monday, April 28 and reopen on Saturday, May 3. Construction is expected to wrap up mid-June.
The Van Tuyl trail is a well-used loop that runs along a portion of the Gunnison River, as well as open ranchland. It stays open year-round. A bridge, installed in 2008 when the trail was first built, is located just southwest of the VanTuyl Ranch house. It has slowly deteriorated and is in need of replacement.
In October 2023, the city hired JVA Consulting Engineers to assess the condition of the small, but heavily-used bridge. While the bridge could remain in use for several more years, its structure is not code-compliant, the report read. The bridge is also unable to support the weight of the city’s trail maintenance and winter plowing vehicles.
At first, the city planned to replace it with another bridge, but cost estimates were expensive. Instead, JVA recommended an open-bottom culvert, which is more environmentally friendly than a traditional one. The open bottom preserves the natural streambed and allows fish passage. The City of Gunnison is paying for the roughly $167,000 project with the help of a $25,000 MetRec grant.
(Bella Biondini can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or bella@gunnisontimes.com.)
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