Summit County

Construction on road connecting Bitner Ranch and Silver Creek begins this summer

KPCW | By Connor Thomas

Published May 15, 2023 at 1:47 PM MDT

The areas highlighted in green are those slated for construction at some point over the course of the entire project.

Construction begins soon on the Bitner Ranch Road to Silver Creek Road connector project, and there’s a public information session Thursday, May 18.

The plan is to put the new road south of Mountain Life Church’s Church Street. It will meander down to Valley Drive and over to Bitner Ranch Road.

The new road will allow motorists near Silver Creek to get to Kimball Junction without hopping on Interstate 80. Also, people in the Glenwild area will have access to U.S. Highway 40 without needing to go to Kimball Junction, which has the nearest highway onramp..

The county bought a 40-acre parcel that the road will cross for $4 million last year.

The new road will connect to Bitner Ranch Road and Silver Creek Road with roundabouts. Summit County said the Silver Creek side will be the first to see construction.

The area highlighted in red will be the first to see delays from construction. That will be the focus of Thursday's public information session.

Improvements will be going in as far south as the Sinclair gas station, where U.S. 40 begins. Ahead of slow-downs there, the county has scheduled a public information session.

“The project’s contractor and county engineers will be there to share their plans, anticipated project start and end dates and to answer questions about what to expect when the project is underway,” public notices stated.

It will be Thursday, May 18, at 6 p.m. at Mountain Life Church. For those who can’t attend, the county said it will post a recap afterward.

Corrected: May 16, 2023 at 12:41 PM MDT

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Summit County used eminent domain to get some of the land the road could cross. Although the legal process began, a settlement was reached with the landowner.