Pitkin County engineers present Redstone bridge color and finish options; integral coloring ruled out

Pitkin County engineers and the project design team briefed board members on color, finish and maintenance choices for the planned Redstone bridge replacement, explaining that the precast girders cannot be produced with integral color and that the selected color will be applied in the field after the girders are set.

The presentation, led by Andrew Knapp, Pitkin County engineer, and Mark Freimoyer, project consultant and design project manager, summarized outreach to the Crystal River Caucus and a public open house in Elk Park and presented three color options — concrete gray, red and a rustic brown — with red initially showing more support in outreach so far. Knapp said the project is tracking toward construction next year and that another public outreach event is planned for the Redstone Community Association in early August.

Why it matters: the bridge sits in a small, character-driven community where color and finish affect both preservation-minded aesthetics and long-term maintenance. The design decisions discussed determine how visible the structure will be, how…