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2024
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VOL. 143 NO. 42 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2024 | $1.00
Middle bridge opens to all traffic starting this week CDOT aims for ‘back to normal’ two-way traffic before winter Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
Six months after the closure of the Hwy. 50 middle bridge, larger vehicles like trucks, trailers and RVs can now rumble across it. The Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) goal is to open the bridge for two-way traffic before winter, returning it to “normal.” Starting on Oct. 16, the bridge will open in single-lane alternating traffic to all legal loads
for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Heavier vehicles — semi trucks, large motorhomes and charter buses — will be allowed over the bridge one at a time. Holdups to allow these larger vehicles across will create some additional delays. Final repairs on the bridge will be done at night, from 11:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. Crews from Kiewit, CDOT’s contractor, have completed “major ” structural repairs on the bridge in the last two months. Workers will start to lay paint and primer, but anticipate coming back next spring for touch-ups, extending the end of the project into May of 2025. Late-night travelers should expect longer wait times, similar to current wait times at the Bridge A7
SKY DANCE: The northern lights put on a show in the Gunnison night sky on Oct. 10 following a solar storm early last week. For more, see B5. (Photo by Mariel Wiley)
City wrapping up CB short-term TODAY rental ensnared in first portion of ongoing lawsuits water plant design INSIDE
NEWS: GMUG acquires new wilderness, A26
COMMUNITY: A silver lining in Crested Butte, B1
SPORTS: GHS softball flies into playoffs, B6
OBITUARIES A2 OPINION A4 CLASSIFIEDS A19-A24 SPORTS B6 ONLINE GUNNISONTIMES.COM
When do vacation rentals become commercial uses under county code? Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
A backcountry home and vacation rental north of Crested Butte is at the center of two lawsuits filed by the homeowner against Gunnison County. One notable argument is, at what point does the type of use, and location of a short-
term rental (STR) outweigh its occasional function as a private residence — elevating it to a commercial use under county codes? Homeowner Andrew Fink and his legal team contend that a recent county ruling may set a precedent for the more than 1,300 STRs within Gunnison County, some of which rent out for thousands of dollars per night. This past July, the Gunnison County Board of Adjustment (BOA), responsible for reviewing land use decisions, decided that certain marketing details and available amenities at a 3,000-square foot home in Washington Gulch elevated it to a commercial use under the county’s land use resolution Campfire A6
Recent changes result in further cost savings Bella Biondini Times Editor
While the process is moving slowly, the City of Gunnison has been tightening up the design of its coming water treatment plant. The city currently relies on a system of wells to supply drinking water to residents. According to city staff, this system lacks redundancy in the case a contaminant enters the aquifer it pulls water from,
or in the case of drought. The method it uses to treat the water is also outdated and no longer permitted by the state. In response, the city plans to build a new water treatment plant, its largest project the municipality has taken on in recent history, at the cityowned Van Tuyl Ranch. The water system upgrades will be split into five separate projects. Project 1 focuses on the collection of “raw” or untreated water; project 2 is the complex system of pipes that will move water to a treatment plant ; and project 3 is the new plant. Projects 4 and 5, far out into the future, create additional water storage and a possible reservoir. Water plant A9