Travel delays anticipated on road to Waldorf and Santiago mines 

Release Date: Sep 6, 2022

GEORGETOWN, Colo. – Travel delays are anticipated on the road to Waldorf and Santiago mines (Forest Service Road 248.1), from its junction with Guanella Pass Road (County Road 381) beginning at daybreak on Sept. 7, 2022, while crews walk in large construction equipment for maintenance on two mine reclamation projects.

The equipment is large and slow moving and will require the entire width of the road, which is why we anticipate delays for the majority of the day. It will be difficult for motorized vehicles to pass the equipment, which has a 6 mile trip along the road to the project area.

The excavator and skidsteer are needed for a mine reclamation project that will address elevated levels of metals in tailings piles near the Waldorf Mine and Santiago Mine sites. These tailings piles are actively impacting Leavenworth Creek, which is an important municipal water supply for Georgetown.

The USDA Forest Service’s Abandoned Mine Lands Program and Trout Unlimited are partnering to address these hazardous tailings from entering the stream channel. This project is being completed through the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).

The road will be open while the project is underway. Work is expected to last through the end of September 2022, weather dependent, and then traffic delays will be anticipated again while the equipment is walked out of the area.