Roughly 30 people on Friday afternoon watched the Little Thompson River tumbling over the river bed near the Lion Gulch Trailhead, between Lyons and Estes Park. The site and sounds of the moving water marked a historic moment — the first time in 90 years that river has run through its original channel.
The water’s return to its old path, starting in January, was no accident. Since early last year, the Colorado Department of Transportation and contractors with Flatiron Constructors have been working to make a culvert and a 214-foot-long tunnel that allows the water to flow under U.S. 36.
To celebrate the completion of the roughly $12 million project — one of the last flood recovery projects stemming from the 2013 flood— on Friday, CDOT officials joined Larimer County leaders, people with Flatiron Constructors and partners with the U.S. Forest Service in a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Snipping through the ribbon Friday was Heather Paddock, director for CDOT’S Region 4 Transportation.
“We know it’s not a question of if it will flood again, but when. This project specifically was one of the ones I was most excited about when we were in the recovery office,” Paddock said. “We lost this roadway twice. Once, in ’76 and then again in 2013 (during the flood).”
When the highway was constructed in the 1930s, the river was redirected to flow adjacent to the roadway. Paddock guessed it was likely a cost-saving measure at the time, preventing construction workers from having to carve out a tunnel and culvert. Now back in its original channel, she said it has made the highway more resilient to flooding, while also benefiting wildlife.
Chris Carroll, a fisheries biologist for the U.S. Forest Service’s Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland, also attended the ribbon cutting and commended CDOT for working in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service on the project.
“It’s really, really exciting to see the Little Thompson River back in its original channel after all these years,” Carroll said. “I’m excited to see what happens over time. It’s kind of a science experiment putting the stream back in that channel. We’re going to continue to do our part to monitor how this channel responds.”
Because the original path of the water moves around the ravine, brook and rainbow trout can now swim upstream. Before, the steep path of the river kept the fish from being able to do so.
The tunnel, which has an 11-foot diameter, was also created to encourage wildlife to travel through it, rather than across the busy highway, reducing the chance of them being struck by a car. Raised shelves along the water and the culvert make it possible for animals to pass under the road safely.
The project added roughly one mile to the flow of the river, which travels all the way to Berthoud. Jared Fiel, CDOT spokesperson, said this will help the strength of the water dissipate. Its path along the original channel will also keep the water from eroding the roadside.
“Where that water is now — that hasn’t seen water in 90 years,” Fiel said. “This is going to make sure that road stays safe the next time we have a flood.”
Grant Johns, district operations manager with Flatiron Constructors, said over 40,000 work hours went into the project. He thanked the partnerships and the hard work of his crew for getting the job done.
“We worked in some pretty tough conditions,” Johns said. “Like Heather (Paddock) said this fill was placed 90 years ago. We didn’t know what we were going to run into. I think we ran into some Volkswagen-sized boulders.”
People who took part in the ribbon cutting were also given a tour of the completed site, where they could see the tunnel and take in the Little Thompson River and the mountain scenery around it.
“This has been a great project and a great partnership,” Paddock said.
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CDOT project returns Little Thompson to its original course - Loveland Reporter-Herald
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