Gypsum Town Council hires Denver-based firm to conduct feasibility study for airport interchange
Firm has worked on Floyd Hill, Dowd Canyon projects
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The Gypsum Town Council on Tuesday agreed to spend $385,000 to HDR, a Denver firm, to conduct a feasibility study to revive the Interstate 70 interchange project to serve the Eagle County Regional Airport.
Town engineer Matt Figgs, a former Colorado Department of Transportation employee, said after meeting with transportation department officials that the study will put more emphasis on the price of the project.
Figgs told council members that HDR has worked on projects along I-70 including the current work on Floyd Hill, as well as a study at Dowd Canyon. The firm is doing “mega projects,” Figgs said, and is familiar with doing public outreach on those projects. Figgs noted the firm is “highly technically capable,” adding that some company employees worked on the original interchange design in the early 2000s.
That design was finished in the early 2000s. The state transportation department acquired, and still has, the right of way for the project. The problem remains funding.
Figgs noted that the interchange could be a “huge benefit” to the town, and the study could set up the town to deliver an important project.
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Council member Scott Green asked how deeply into the details of the old environmental analysis the new study will get.
Figgs replied that the new study will have to come up with buildable alternatives, as well as realistic cost estimates.
One of the problems, Figgs said, is that bridge design standards have changed over the roughly 20 years since the old design was finished. In addition, state transportation officials have also told town officials they need to demonstrate a need for the project.
One of the alternatives that needs to be explored is the possibility of an at-grade crossing of the dormant Union Pacific railroad tracks between U.S. Highway 6 and the Eagle River. That, instead of a long bridge between Highway 6 and I-70, could save millions off the original cost estimates.
The study will look for a “magic bullet” to save money on the project, Figgs said.
Council member Tom Edwards noted that Eagle County supports the project, and asked Town Manager Jeremy Rietmann how far that support goes.
Rietmann replied that the support includes paying for a lobbying firm and developing a relationship with the railroad.
Taking down costs and developing a rationale for the interchange could help build support for the project with other valley communities, Rietmann added.
