The Chaffee County project to structurally reinforce the Midland Tunnels on County Road 371 north of Buena Vista is being postponed in order to complete federally mandated historic preservation evaluation.
The tunnels along this portion of CR371 are located on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The Midland Tunnels stabilization project, originally planned to begin on April 11th, must undergo additional review by the BLM before work can commence. The review process has recently begun and the timeline for the review process is still being determined at this time.
The Midland Tunnels are considered a historical feature of the Midland Railroad Grade, built in 1880. Since the Tunnels project relates to such a potentially significant historical feature, it must comply with the requirements of the federal National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). This includes review and evaluation by the Bureau of Land Management and consultation with the Colorado State Historic Preservation Office to ensure that any possible negative impacts from the stabilization work can be reduced or eliminated. Chaffee County Road and Bridge department will continue to work with the geotechnical/tunneling engineering team from STANTEC Consulting Services in the meantime to finalize the project plan.
Postponement of the project means that County Road 371 will not be closed to through traffic in the vicinity of the tunnels during the months of April and May as originally planned. Vehicles, bicycles, and foot traffic will continue to be allowed through the tunnels and the full length of CR371 until further notice. The Tunnels project timeline will be updated and communicated publicly as soon as the NHPA evaluation is completed.
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