Estes businesses’ frustration leads to town’s aid, delay in paving

ESTES PARK — Ongoing and potential future disruption caused by multiple construction projects in tourism-dependent Estes Park’s core retail area — including the controversial Downtown Estes Loop — have prompted the town government to offer financial aid to impacted businesses and its Public Works Department to delay some work until this fall.

After a night of wrangling on Tuesday and hearing from a business owner who said revenue was down by 25% to 30% per business in the area affected by Loop construction, the town Board of Trustees unanimously passed a resolution allocating $200,000 in direct grants to impacted businesses and another $200,000 to a marketing-match program available to any business in the local marketing district. The direct grants will be prorated and awarded by the Estes Chamber of Commerce. The dates for eligibility are between May 1 and July 31, and marketing dollars will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

Meanwhile, milling and overlay work that had been scheduled to start this week along West Elkhorn Avenue in upper downtown Estes Park has been delayed until after Oct. 20 after businesses in that stretch of the mountain village’s main retail street expressed concerns about the potential disruption during the height of tourist season. 

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The complaints were directed to the Department of Public Works, the town administrator and the Board of Trustees, Estes Park Public Works Director Gregory Muhonen told BizWest on Wednesday.

“This fraction of the work had not started yet,” he said, adding that the contract with Loveland-based Coulson Excavating Co. also includes patching and overlays on a number of residential streets and a parking lot.

The Downtown Estes Loop, the one-way couplet designed to speed traffic to and from Rocky Mountain National Park, involves East Elkhorn and Moraine avenues as well as East and West Riverside drives. That work is “ahead of the contract’s schedule, and we’re feeling encouraged about that,” said Muhonen.

Night work will continue between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. for another week in preparation for paving several areas within the Loop. That work will center on Crags Drive south of the Moraine-Riverside roundabout and the entrances into Piccadilly Square and Fun City, although parking-lot access will remain available to both businesses. Night work also will be done on East Riverside Drive from near the bus stop to its intersection with East Elkhorn Avenue to construct the secondary right-turn lane and signal island, as well as on the west half of the post office parking lot for removal and reconstruction.

Also this week, crews are backfilling the new stairs located north of the roundabout on the east side of Moraine Avenue near Snowy Peaks Winery and building curbs and sidewalks in that location.

The October start date for the West Elkhorn work is pending suitable weather and availability of personnel, equipment and materials, Muhonen’s department said, adding that more information on timing will be provided when it is available.

That work is part of a street-improvement program that is funded by the second 10-year extension of the town’s 1% sales tax that was approved by voters in April by nearly a two-to-one margin. That levy would have expired on June 30 had voters not endorsed Ballot Question 1A.

The measure voters approved designates 46% of the tax’s revenue for construction, repair and replacement of streets in the town, 28% for expansion of the town’s stormwater infrastructure, 12.5% for expansion and reconstruction of public trails in the Estes Valley, 9% for implementation of a wildfire-mitigation program by the Estes Valley Fire Protection District, and — for the first time — 4.5% for the mitigation of wildfire risk from town power-distribution lines, a fund that would generate an estimated $400,000 a year.

Visitors also are being affected by construction projects in areas of Rocky Mountain National Park near the town as well, with ongoing work limiting capacity at U.S. Highway 34’s Fall River entrance and a complete closure continuing at the park’s largest campground along Bear Lake Road.

While work continues at the entrance station, only one lane with one kiosk and two windows are operational when staffing allows, according to a news release issued Thursday by Kyle Patterson, the park’s public affairs officer. When the project is completed, she said, there will be three kiosks, a transponder lane and a new lane configuration for improved traffic flow from the park’s boundary. She said the work is expected to be completed later this summer.

Meanwhile, Moraine Park Campground is expected to remain closed throughout the summer and fall seasons because of construction delays.

“Production in the field did not match the anticipated schedule,” Patterson said. “The contractor is working to finish up the project while the weather is good by expediting the delivery of construction materials and increasing crew sizes and/or work hours. Much of the work for this project includes underground utility improvements that will allow for year-round use of the campground for the next several decades, increase the campground’s accessibility, and move sites off of sensitive wetlands and create new sites.

“The scope and scale of this project is significant,” she said. “This critical infrastructure project is improving the water, wastewater and electrical distribution systems that serve Moraine Park Campground and many additional park facilities on the east side of the park. Although many of the utility improvements are underground and will never be seen, they are vital.”