Redstone captures 25‑day early incentive

Pitkin County’s Redstone South Bridge replacement is now testing whether a narrowly defined public-works incentive can do what owners want it to do: pull a disruptive closure forward without reopening the whole contract. County documents set September 4, 2026 as the bridge-opening milestone and offered Myers and Sons Construction an early-completion incentive of $2,000 a day for as many as 25 days if the bridge opens sooner. The project is now running far enough ahead that local coverage this week said the contractor appears likely to capture the full 25-day incentive. The bridge matters because Redstone has been operating with a one-way-in, one-way-out detour through town while the south bridge is closed. Pitkin County said in February that the closure would begin in early March and continue through the summer, with traffic routed over the Redstone North Bridge on Redstone Boulevard. County Engineer Andrew Knapp said at the time that officials were moving into construction “with a clear plan” and a focus on minimizing impacts on the community. (pitkincounty.com) ### How was the incentive structured? Pitkin County’s February 4 contract announcement laid out the terms in plain numbers: $2,000 per day, capped at 25 days, for opening before September 4. That structure matters because it tied the bonus to a single public-facing milestone — reopening the bridge — rather than to a long list of intermediate activities that can be harder to verify. (pitkincounty.com) A county agenda document from the design phase shows why officials considered the bonus in the first place. The document said the project team was exploring an early-completion incentive because of the impact of the closure on the community, “if budget allows.” That put the incentive in the context of disruption management, not just contractor reward. (pitkincounty.com) ### What exactly is being built? The Redstone South Bridge project replaces a 1947 bridge that Pitkin County has described as the oldest bridge in its inventory. County materials say the work includes removing the existing two-span steel I-beam structure and replacing it with a new single-span prestressed concrete box-girder bridge over the Crystal River, along with associated paving, sidewalk, curb, gutter, signing and striping. (ompnetwork.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com) The county has also tied the work to a trail-connectivity component backed by Open Space and Trails. Pitkin County said the finished design meets state and federal requirements and was designed for a 75-year service life under AASHTO LRFD bridge specifications. ### Why does this case stand out? The Aspen Times report published May 21 said project managers credited the schedule gain to controlled execution and clearly defined milestones that allowed acceleration without sacrificing quality. (pitkincounty.com) That explanation fits the way the contract was written: a bounded replacement package, a fixed reopening date and a cash incentive directly linked to the date the public can use the bridge again. The county’s own public schedule still lists September 4, 2026 as the planned opening date. That leaves the next hard benchmark unchanged even if the contractor beats it and earns the full bonus. ### What happens next in Redstone? September 4, 2026 remains the contract opening milestone on Pitkin County’s project page. Until then, the county says the bridge stays under construction, the detour remains in place over the north bridge, and residents can follow updates through the county’s Redstone South Bridge replacement page and email list. (aspentimes.com) (pitkincounty.com)