CDOT and town officials gather at the intersection U.S. 50 and U.S. 285 for the start of the Rural Roads Project. Front Left to Right: Rock Sol Project Engineer Paul Granahan, CDOT Traffic & Safety Program Engineer Jennifer Allison, Poncha Springs Town Administrator Lance Hostetter, CDOT Region 5 Transportation Director Julie Constan, CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew, CDOT Section 7 Deputy Maintenance Superintendent Marc Quintana. Back Left to Right: Buena Vista Town Manager (Former Poncha Town Manager) Brian Berger, Poncha Springs Trustee, Katie Davis, Poncha Springs Trustee J.D. Longwell, Poncha Springs Maintenance Supervisor Adrian Quintana, RockSol Inspector Tom Schlup, CDOT Design Engineer Beaux Kemp, CDOT Maintenance Supervisor Chaffee County Tyler Carlson, CDOT Resident Engineer David Peyton, United Companies Superintendent Pat Brown, Poncha Public Works Superintendent Sean Kelly, Poncha Public Works Assistant Superintendent Hayden Sich.
Groundbreaking the Official start of the Coloraod Rural Road Project
Officials of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) – including CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew gathered at 12:00 noon on Friday, April 12, with county and local officials for a “groundbreaking” announcement of safety improvements along one of Colorado’s critical transportation corridors.
The intersection of U.S. 50 and U.S. 285 in Poncha Springs is finally getting some TLC. What locals affectionately reference as “the Crossroads of the Rockies” and what others have called — the bottleneck of the county — is getting a major upgrade.
Addressing the importance of this Colorado Rural Roads Project were left to right: CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew, CDOT Region 5 Transportation Director Julie Constan, and new Poncha Springs Town Administrator Lance Hostetter. Photo by Jan Wondra.
“We knew that traffic had really increased here, especially after 2020 when the pandemic hit and you began to get travelers more used to urban traffic,” said Lew. “We are so excited to launch this as one of our rural road projects. It’s the first one on our list that we’re kicking off across rural Colorado.”
Starting this week, Chaffee County is going to get an important road crossing upgrade. The U.S. Highways 50 and 285 intersection and surface improvements project at the intersection of the two major state roads nearest the Crossroads of the Rockies Visitor Center (7010 U.S. Hwy 285) will be reworked, and receive a new signal system realigned for our traffic realities. While it’s taken years to reach this point, the project is expected to be completed by October 2024.
CDOT is working in cooperation with prime contractor United Companies, and with the construction group known as RockSol. It will begin immediately to realign and reconstruct the existing three-way intersection into a four-way signalized intersection enhancing connectivity and improving traffic flows. The $7.4 million project is part of CDOT’s 10-year commitment to improve infrastructure in rural communities.
“Former Poncha Springs Town Administrator Brian [Berger] and I started on this project in 2012,” said CDOT Region 5 Transportation Director Julie Constan. What with doing traffic studies, and exploring different road configurations, “It took four years to get it on the 10-year plan.” She noted that after the pandemic hit, CDOT realized we had a traffic crisis, and “scrounged parts” from CDOT storage facilities and came up with the temporary signal that has been in place for the past couple of years.
“This area stands as a testimony of how rural areas have been discovered, said CDOT Communications Specialist Adair Christensen. “But getting the key intersection of U.S. 285 up to standard is key to being able to explore safely.”
That said — CDOT says that such a major improvement project will come with traffic delays and will require patience. Ark Valley Voice intends to communicate directly with CDOT as the project proceeds to give you as much notice as possible for delays and lane closures. We just have to keep our eyes on the prize — a brand-new intersection that can better handle the traffic we’re experiencing.
Colorado’s Rural Roads Project
The crossroads project is part of what is being called Colorado’s Rural Roads Project. It recognizes that not all the state’s population lives in urban areas and that roads are crucial to the economic vitality of rural areas. It also recognizes that while urban residents want to get out in the state’s beautiful rural and mountain areas, roads have be be safe and capable of handling the traffic.
“This is the number one project in the region,” said Lew, who has been on the job for five and a half years; recruited here by Governor Jared Polis. “The rural road project is one of the most sizable areas of the state’s 10-year plan and one of which we’re all really proud.”
To learn more about this project visit this link.
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