Businesses hurt by natural disasters and the subsequent closures of Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon are eligible to apply for disaster relief loans.
Gov. Jared Polis, the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, and the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness announced the loans Friday in a news release.
The governor’s Aug. 3 disaster declaration for the area prompted availability of the loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.
“The closure resulted in loss (of) revenues between 50% and 75% for hundreds of small-town businesses; and reduced outdoor recreation business due to the closure of Glenwood Canyon and resultant loss of access to portions of the Colorado River,” Polis said in a Sept. 10 letter to the SBA.
The loans are for businesses in Garfield, Eagle, Mesa, Pitkin, Rio Blanco and Routt counties that have suffered because of flooding, mudslides, rockslides and the summer traffic closures through Glenwood Canyon.