State Highway 5 (Mt Blue Sky Road) Summit Lake Wetland and Hydrology Study
There is concern that the hydrologic regime of the Summit Lake Park wetland complex on Mt Blue Sky (formerly Mt. Evans) east of State Highway 5 has been significantly altered by development of the roadway. Alterations to topography, soils, and permafrost may have concentrated the formerly uniform distribution of water into discrete flow paths below culvert crossings, while areas not receiving inputs from culvert outfalls may have become drier in the decades since the road was built. The expected impacts of a changing climate could exacerbate the effects of such hydrologic modifications, and potentially damage the rare alpine wetland ecosystems downstream. The objectives of this study are to investigate the interaction between the natural hydrologic processes and the roadway to determine any effects of the road on downgradient hydrologic regime, soils, soil temperature and permafrost, and vegetation. Long-term goals of this research are to: (1) Identify options for road reconstruction to minimize permafrost and hydrologic impacts on such roadways; and (2) Minimize or restore impacts to alpine wetland ecosystems in the Summit Lake Park area that may be caused by the roadway.
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Active
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Sponsor Organizations:
Colorado Department of Transportation
Applied Research and Innovation Branch
Denver, CO United States 80204 -
Project Managers:
Roeder, Bryan
- Start Date: 20180130
- Expected Completion Date: 20250925
- Actual Completion Date: 0
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Environmental impacts; Highways; Hydrology; Tundra; Wetlands
- Geographic Terms: Colorado
- Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Hydraulics and Hydrology;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01927170
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Colorado Department of Transportation
- Files: RIP, STATEDOT
- Created Date: Aug 13 2024 5:59PM