Last week, Summit County’s design-build team of Ecological Resource Consultants/Tezak Heavy Equipment (ERC/Tezak) began construction setup with equipment mobilization, survey staking and erosion- and sediment-control installation. The contractor also initiated earthwork, primarily stripping existing topsoil and sorting materials in onsite gravel piles. 

The Open Space and Trails Department installed signage with information about the project at the intersection of Rock Island Road and Tiger Road, as well as at the Summit Gulch Road Trailhead. Please note that all trails and publicly accessible roads remain open during construction. However, please be aware that periodic construction access across/detours around these roads and trails are necessary, and heavy earthwork construction is occurring nearby. 

East of Rock Island Road, ERC/Tezak has started preparing a platform that will house a temporary gravel milling operation used to manufacture materials for onsite and offsite beneficial reuse from vast quantities of existing onsite dredge gravels. Onsite reuses of manufactured materials will be primarily for a natural subsurface stream liner and soils for riparian and upland revegetation.

Work is scheduled to continue through November 2016, followed by a winter shut-down period, before recommencing in spring 2017. Additional information about Swan River Restoration Project is available at RestoreTheSwanRiver.com as well as on the Open Space and Trails Special Projects web page. If you have additional questions about the restoration project, you can contact Summit County Open Space and Trails Director Brian Lorch, or Open Space and Trails Resource Specialist Jason Lederer, or call 970.668.4060.