Six weeks after the historic floods, Gov. John Hickenlooper announced that 77 percent of the state’s 486 miles of damaged state highways and 120 damaged bridges are open. He said the goal is to have all roads open by Dec. 1.

Temporary fixes may not open all roads to bicycles by Dec. 1

Some fixes include temporary bridges and gravel—repairs meant to give motor vehicles, construction crews and materials, local residents, business owners and tourists access to affected areas. But not all roads will be open to bicycles on Dec. 1. We believe that Colorado will have a quicker recovery by giving commuting workers more transportation options and regaining important tourist visits. We’re working to regain full bike access as soon as possible.

State, county and local officials will begin critical planning work over the winter for phase two of the recovery project, which will include bringing some “legacy roads” up to current standards, giving safe access to all users. Those projects will start in April and may take several years to complete.

We have had meetings with the Colorado Department of Transportation, Sen. Mark Udall’s staff and the FEMA administrator for Colorado to learn how the repair and recovery process will work and to talk about how getting roads open for bicycles and pedestrians will help communities recover faster.

State law does not extend to county and local roads

By law, state roadway projects must accommodate bicycles and pedestrians, but the law doesn’t extend to county and local roads. One hundred local jurisdictions are involved in recovery planning, and it’s critical that people stand up for bicycling in that process.

If you live or work in an area affected by the floods, please let us know about planning meetings and surveys so we can share them with our constituents. Send us information at info@bicyclecolorado.org. We’ll post it on Facebook and report in eNews. Most importantly, we encourage you to participate in the process to help our neighbors, towns and state recover.