Fact: The artists have agreed to eliminate all construction activities on the highway during the summer months of June, July and August. During this time, construction will limited to the railroad side of the river to help avoid Over The River-related traffic delays during the high tourist season.
When installation construction does occur, the vast majority of impacts will be limited to the direct areas where anchors need to be drilled and installed, which entails about 15% of the Arkansas River Valley between Salida and Cañon City. At times, the installation process will require temporary one-lane closures on Highway 50, but these short-term closures are expected to cause no more than 2-4 minute delays and will involve no more than a 400-foot stretch of the highway in any 10-mile section. Any temporary closure will be enforced with CDOT-approved flagging protocol and will be similar to the typical one-lane CDOT road repair closures that periodically take place on US-50. In addition, an extensive traffic management plan will be developed as part of the Over The River Environmental Impact Statement. This plan will provide a framework that can continue to help improve traffic conditions in the Canyon long after Over The River has be removed.
Myth: Wildlife will be endangered and forced from the Arkansas River Valley during installation, viewing and removal.
Fact: Christo and Jeanne-Claude view wildlife as one of the Valley's greatest resources and are committed to protecting their habitat. The fabric panels will not block wildlife access to the river for water and food, and the artists have specifically designed Over The River in a way that avoids placing panels in prominent watering areas. Additionally, the construction and viewing periods for Over The River have been carefully scheduled around breeding and nesting seasons. As an added precaution, construction buffer zones will be created near potentially active eagle nests and around designated sheep areas.
Myth: During the exhibition period, emergency personnel will not be able to effectively respond to incidents.
Fact: During the two-week exhibition period, emergency response teams and equipment, as well as law enforcement staff, will be located at strategic intervals along the canyon. Furthermore, the artists have offered to provide ambulance and helicopter services to help expedite emergency response times during the two-week exhibition. The artists have intentionally altered their design to eliminate fabric panels from river locations that have a high incidence of rescue so that emergency responders can easily access the river. Christo and Jeanne-Claude will also work with local municipalities and emergency responders to develop specific emergency/incident response plans, which will benefit valley residents for years to come.
Myth: Over The River is likely to be vandalized.
Fact: In all of their years of creating large-scale temporary works of art, Christo and Jeanne-Claude's projects have had a very low incidence of vandalism. For Over The River, the artists will provide a security presence throughout the installation period. They will also provide full-time professional security and monitoring personnel to staff the project site 24 hours a day during the exhibition period.
Myth: Over The River is unsafe, since the fabric panels are unstable and likely to become unhinged.
Fact: The artists and their team have conducted a series of life-size tests over a three year period, developing engineering techniques to ensure that the fabric panels will remain secured and that all installation components are safe. For example, they tested the fabric to ensure it could withstand the heavy downpours by conducting a "porocity" test. Approximately 5,000 gallons of water were poured directly on top of a fabric panel, yet the test resulted in no water accumulation or "puddling". To ensure that the project could withstand high winds, one of the world's leading experts performed wind tunnel tests both on site and at a state-of-the-art testing facility in Canada. All tests have proven the hardware components and fabric panels of Over The River to be completely secure. A prominent Colorado engineering firm has also independently evaluated the test results and will approve all design plans, as required by law.
Myth: Significant environmental impacts will occur to the fragile canyon ecosystem during construction, exhibition and removal.
Fact: Christo and Jeanne-Claude share a passion for the environment and bring to Over The River an unwavering commitment to environmental conservation and protection. Every effort will be made to minimize all potential impacts related to noise, vegetation, air quality and water quality. The artists have made the following commitments to environmental preservation:
- Wash all construction vehicles and equipment prior to entering and departing the site to reduce the risk of introducing foreign weeds to the eight separate fabric panel areas.
- Use drill mufflers, acoustical shrouds and quieter back-up alarms on vehicles to minimize noise disruption during construction.
- Power all construction vehicles/equipment with the cleanest fuel available.
- Develop and strictly adhere to a construction routing/scheduling plan.