It ain’t easy rebuilding a rest stop at 10,600 feet.
That’s the biggest reason a CDOT contractor is a year overdue on a new, $21 million rest stop at Vail Pass.
CDOT estimates it will open sometime early next year, but with no firm deadline. It has been closed since 2022.
The new rest stop building went up this summer. On the weekend before Thanksgiving windows and walls are draped in construction plastic, and a new, larger parking lot for semi-trucks and snowmobile trailers is blocked off.
Vail Pass winter pause
Now on hold for winter is CDOT’s $300 million Vail Pass road project. It includes auxiliary lanes, repaving, runaway truck ramps, a rebuilt curve, and six animal crossings.
CDOT recently confirmed it is scaling back its vision for the auxiliary lanes. A third lane eastbound will start halfway up the pass, instead of near East Vail. Engineers say they were forced to “cost engineer” for inflation.
Crews will be back in late spring for another year of work there. It is scheduled to wrap up in 2026.