Downtown Loop Project

Many people have asked us about the Loop project.  This  is the current information being provided by the Town of Estes Park.

Project Overview

The project originated through the Town’s 2013 application for Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) funds to construct a one-way couplet along Elkhorn Avenue, Moraine Avenue and Riverside Drive. Improvements consist of a 1.1-mile loop of Elkhorn Avenue, Moraine Avenue and Riverside Drives.

The Downtown Estes Loop project is expected to be finalized by January, 2025. Major construction will take place during non-peak months, January through June and October through December.

The purpose of this project is to improve access to and from Rocky Mountain National Park by reducing travel time, congestion and pedestrian and vehicle conflicts through downtown Estes Park, as well as the associated negative impacts to the visitor experience.

When the final configuration is in place, a one-way traffic pattern will exist on Elkhorn Avenue westward from the intersection of Riverside Drive through the intersection at Moraine Avenue, and southward on Moraine Avenue to a new roundabout on Moraine Avenue that connects Crags Drive, Moraine Avenue/US Highway 36 and Riverside Drive. An eastbound one-way traffic pattern will exist from the roundabout, northward on West Riverside Drive over the newly constructed bridge onto East Riverside Drive, which will be a one-way street taking motorists northward back to the intersection of Elkhorn Avenue and Riverside Drive.

Project Timeline

Fall/Winter 2023 to Spring 2024:

• Improvements to the Elkhorn/Moraine intersection

• Improvements to Elkhorn/East Riverside intersection

• Improvements to the post office parking lot

• East Riverside Drive storm line construction

• Crags Drive and Moraine Avenue roundabout concrete paving  

• Baldwin Park retaining walls

• New stairs at Moraine Avenue and West Riverside Drive

• River wall from the new bridge to the Rockwell Street bridge

Summer 2024 to Fall/Winter 2024:

• Improvements to Elkhorn/Riverside continued

• Resurfacing Moraine Avenue, Elkhorn Avenue and Rockwell Street

• Reconstructing East Riverside Drive

• Installing new landscaping and irrigation