A section of Rim Rock Drive in Colorado National Monument will be closed for a while, beginning late this month, to allow crews to rebuild the road base.

Park staff say they will be partnering with the Federal Highway Administration for work in three areas along Rim Rock Drive between now and July 31. 

The closure of a section of Rim Rock Drive will be necessary, as the first part of the project involves completely replacing a small portion of the road between Highland View Overlook and Artist Point Overlook. The work will entail removing the road base in a section of road that continues to slump, creating challenging driving conditions for visitors. The closure will start January 29, and is expected to take a month.

To allow the greatest use of the remainder of Rim Rock Drive and access to all hiking trails, bicyclists and passenger cars/trucks will be allowed to Artist Point and Highland View before being directed to turnaround. Oversize vehicles such as RVs, box trucks and vehicles towing trailers will be directed to turn around at 16 ½ Road and Independence Monument View Overlook.

The second part of the project will be to repave the east hill from the entrance near Grand Junction to the monument boundary on Glade Park Road/DS Road. This will start the beginning of March. During most of this work one driving lane will be open. Drivers will have delays of 15 – 30 minutes as pilot vehicles provide for safe access through the construction zones.

Any complete closures of this section of Rim Rock Drive will be temporary and notification will be sent out two weeks in advance. Little Park Road is an alternate route for those traveling to and from Glade Park.

The final project covered by the contract will be to replace the guard rails throughout Rim Rock Drive. At this time the work will start late spring to early summer.