Work resuming on Floyd Hill; expect overnight closings

PAGE 7 WEEKLY REGISTER-CALLSeptember 25, 2025

Gilpin County RE-1 Board of Education Announces

Candidate Public Forum

The Board of Education will host a Candidate Public Forum on October 1, 2025, 6 p.m. in the

school auditorium. Members of GCHS Student Council will moderate the forum. The public is

invited to attend. The Forum will be live-streamed on the Gilpin County School Youtube Channel.

There are two candidates for the one two year term director seat 2025-2027:

fivehillsghost@yahoo.com

There are three candidates on the ballot for

the two four year director seats 2025-2029:

brady.s.fowler@gmail.com

victoriaelenaedwards@gmail.com

Goodlett_ek@live.com

Free CDOT shuttle closing for Free CDOT shuttle closing for

the winter this weekendthe winter this weekend

As the leaf peepers head

into the mountains to watch

the Aspens turning this fall,

it’s a clear sign that winter is

approaching.

Accordingly, CDOT has

announced that its free Clear

Creek Greenway Trail Courte-

sy Shuttle will be discontinued

for the season after Sunday,

Sept. 28. The shuttle helped

hikers and bikers bypass the

closed trail section between

Exit 243 (Hidden Valley-

Central City Parkway) and Exit

244 (Black Hawk-Golden).

The Clear Creek Greenway

Trail will stay closed for con-

struction until 2027.

Ongoing rock scaling and

blasting work will continue

this week above westbound

I-70 between the Veterans

Memorial Tunnels near Idaho

Springs and Homestead Road

(Exit 247). The interstate will

be shut down in both direc-

tions during blasting and scal-

ing activities.

Blasting operations cause

road closures for 20-minute

periods between Idaho Springs

and the middle of Floyd Hill.

Side roads, including U.S. 40,

U.S. 6, Central City Parkway

and County Road 314, are also

closed during these times.

Traffic delays of up to 40 min-

utes could happen during the

blasting and scaling work.

Most rock blasting opera-

tions occur from 9 a.m. to 3

p.m. Monday through Thurs-

day. All activities depend on

weather and may change for

the $700 million Floyd Hill

project, which is expected to

finish in late 2028.

Alternating, one-way traffic

is expected to continue from 5

a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through

Friday next week along U.S.

6 (Clear Creek Canyon) in

Jefferson County, between

Highway 119 and Golden.

The closings are connected

to the ongoing Jefferson

County Peak to Peak Trail

Construction project happen-

ing in the canyon.

Hillside access and utility

work on the south side of U.S.

40 may cause temporary one-

way traffic restrictions during

the upcoming week. Signage

will be posted during work

hours, and drivers are advised

to watch for flaggers directing

traffic in the area.

CDOT started resurfacing

part of the I-70 Eisenhower-

Johnson Memorial Tunnels

(EJMT) last week. The work

will continue into late October.

Motorists should expect over-

night tunnel traffic with delays

lasting up to 30 minutes.

Wall construction work continued along central section of the Floyd Hill project in recent weeks.

Lee John Droege, a World War II veteran and

longtime resident of Central City, passed away on

Sept. 15 at the Colorado Veterans Home. He was 97.

Born on May 4, 1928, in Covington, Kent., Lee John gradu-

ated high school a year early to enlist in the U.S. Navy. He was

just beginning his first tour of duty when Victory in Japan Day

was declared on August 15, 1945. After his service, he earned

a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Cin-

cinnati and worked for Hughes Aircraft and other companies,

becoming an early pioneer in the development of microcircuits.

In 1956, Lee John married Helen Russell, with whom he had

six children: Aimee, Roxanne, Nick, Peter, Bonnie, and Alex.

The family moved to Central City in 1959, where Lee John

founded the Central City Micro Foundry, producing cast metal

art and etched jewelry. His businesses, housed in the building

now occupied by the Dragon Tiger Casino and the nearby gran-

ite structure, also included a dulcimer shop, an old-time photo

studio, and the Coffee House of St. Cecilia.

Lee John later built a large geodesic dome home in Colorado

Sierra, recognized as one of the best examples of that architec-

tural style in the United States. After his divorce from Helen in

1971, he remarried and had another son, Daniel.

Lee John, a man deeply connected to his community, counted

many of Gilpin County’s most notable residents among his

friends. These included Bill and Kay Russell, Angelo DiBene-

detto, Bill and Kay Lorenz, Tyler Hall, Pete Redmond, Joe

Wheeler, Joe Mastro, Van and Kay Cullar, Claude Powe, Robert

Powe, Lew and Leslie Cady, Jack Hidahl, Sandy Hoffman, Ernie

Wright, Bruce and Sandy Schmalz, and Michael and Caroline

Riordan. He enjoyed telling stories about the characters and

adventures of Central City life from the 1960s onward.

Above all, Lee John considered his family his greatest legacy.

He is survived by seven children, 26 grandchildren, and great-

grandchildren.

He was a lifelong member of Central City Elks Lodge No.

557 and active at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church,

where a funeral Mass is being planned. Interment will take

place at the Catholic Cemetery.

Weekly Register-Call

Lee John Droege (center) celebrated his 96th

birthday last year with friends and family at the

Central City Elks Lodge No. 557.

A woman died from injuries sustained in a climbing accident

on Sept. 20 in Clear Creek County.

According to the Idaho Springs Police Department, Olivia

Copeland, 26, from Ft. Collins, was an employee of AVA Rafting

and Zipline when she fell while rappelling with customers on

the Mt. Blue Sky Ferrata course.

Responding to the scene, 431 Highway 103 were ISPD, Clear

Creek Fire Authority, Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office, Clear

Creek EMS, and Alpine Rescue. A Flight for Life helicopter was

also requested. The Colorado Department of Labor and Em-

ployment, in conjunction with the Division of Oil and Public

Safety, has been notified and will investigate the accident. AVA

is also required to notify OSHA of this incident, according to the

press release from ISPD.

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Work resuming on Floyd Hill; expect overnight closings

Patrick Henry Sweeney

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