U.S. 34 set to re-open before Memorial Day Weekend

The Colorado Department of Transportation said U.S. Highway 34 through the Big Thompson Canyon is on pace to re-open before Memorial Day, as originally scheduled.

That's good news for folks itching to take a trip to Estes Park or Rocky Mountain National Park as the spring weather warms up.

The contractor handling the $130 million project finished the first phase of construction sooner than expected, which allowed the Colorado Department of Transportation to get a jump-start on bridge construction at the horseshoe curve during the winter closure.

"Doing so is great news, because it means we are accomplishing more work, while still staying on track to open the full closure just before Memorial Day this year," project director James Usher said in a news release.

The canyon closed to all through traffic in mid-October for heavy blasting work and has remained closed since, with exceptions for some holiday travel. The road is expected to stay open for summer travel, though CDOT has not yet introduced its plans to manage traffic during that time as work on the main entrance to the park that drew 4.5 million visitors last year. According to the news release, there will still be "noticeable travel impacts" in the canyon this summer.

Rough road: Residents cope with U.S. 34 construction

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