Construction is really just getting started on the second phase of the Manitou Incline’s restoration, but residents can watch the progress and tick down the days to completion on a local landscaping company’s website.

Timberline Landscaping, which is doing the work, is keeping updates, photos and a progress tracker online at timberlinelandscaping.com.

Construction started Aug. 22 and is scheduled to last through Dec. 2. The first update posted last Friday said helicopter drops were beginning to unload supplies. Timber, concrete, augers, metal brackets and a port-o-potty were among the items dropped in 54 loads at strategic locations, the website said.

Other items have had to be ferried up the one-mile spine of wooden steps by hand. Wheelbarrows, shovels and a 500-pound drill were carried up to the job site, Timberline said.

Crews, too, must carry themselves up the steep path to work. During the first phase of construction, which was much higher up the Incline, one worker said he lost 15 pounds during construction.

Still, work is underway.

To date, crews have completed four water chases, started nine retaining walls and installed or repaired 100-plus timber steps, Timberline said.

Manitou Springs took on repairing the popular one-mile stair climb in 2014 as the number of visitors increased – up to 2,000 hikers on a summer weekend day – and the path started to show wear.

The first phase of the $5 million restoration fixed flood damage and reinforced the middle portion of the Incline. The current phase under construction will tackle the lower portion of the trail, ties 1 through 1,525.

Crews are repairing and replacing damaged retaining walls, cleaning up rebar and loose debris, fixing failed drainage structures and stabilizing existing ties.

The final phase will polish the uppermost, and steepest, part of the trail, starting at tie 2,137, Timberline’s website shows. The date for construction is still to be determined.

When the Incline reopens, it will resume hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. through March 31 and 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 1 through Oct. 31.

In the meantime, avid hikers are encouraged to explore the area’s other challenging hikes.

On its website, Timberline also maintains a colorful trail guide listing off nearby popular hikes.

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Contact Kaitlin Durbin: 636-0362

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