The Cone Zone Care Committee — an extension of the Pagosa Springs Main Street Advisory Board — and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) held an informational meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 19, highlighting some more details in regard to the upcoming reconstruction of U.S. 160 through downtown.
CDOT Regional Communications Manager Lisa Schwantes and Program Engineer Kevin Curry were in attendance and provided information on a timeline of the project, along with other details that have been worked out so far.
Schwantes began by explaining that CDOT Region 5 covers an area containing 15 counties throughout the southwestern portion of the state.
“It’s quite a large area that we are responsible for,” she said.
She noted that CDOT has hired a project manager, RockSol Consulting Group, that will be taking on the consultant role for the project.
She went on to note specific dates as to when the project will be put out for contractors to bid, noting the project will be advertised starting Sept. 19 and will close on Oct. 17.
“That’ll give the opportunity for contractors to bid on that project,” Schwantes explained.
She also noted that CDOT is anticipating selecting a contractor by mid-November, possibly sooner depending on the bids received.
Schwantes explained that the project will begin in the spring of 2025.
Later in the meeting, Curry further explained that the contractor will be allowed to start on March 17, 2025, at the earliest, and the latest possible start date will be April 14, 2025.
“So, it gives ‘em a small window that they can get started,” Curry said, noting that the contract has 324 working days.
Curry also explained that the contractor will have a working day contract, which will include penalties for going over.
Schwantes went on to explain that CDOT has hired a third-party public information team, Trulove Strategic Communications, that will be responsible for distributing information relating to the project.
Trulove Strategic Communications was represented in the meeting by Tracey Trulove, who indicated that she formerly served as the communications director for CDOT Region 3 and was responsible for leading the Grand Avenue Bridge construction project in Glenwood Springs that occurred in 2016 and 2017.
Schwantes indicated that Trulove has already been tasked with creating a project hotline, email and website.
Trulove indicated those resources should be ready in time for the Cone Zone’s next informational meeting scheduled for Sept. 16.
Schwantes explained that typically the contractor selected is responsible for putting together a public information team.
“We did this differently this time,” she said, adding the “hope is for more control on how that’s taken care of.”
Curry went on to explain that “it’s a long contract” due to the amount of utility work that needs to be done before any paving can occur.
He noted that the town has also requested to have work done at the U.S. 160 and Piedra Road intersection to install ADA ramps.
“It’s a fairly long job,” he added.
Curry went on to explain some of the limitations of operations that will be put in place that the contractor will have to work around, one of which is that only one intersection can be closed at a time.
“We identified that they can only work certain intersections at a time; they can’t close two intersections at once,” he said.
The contractor will be required to maintain two lanes of traffic through the construction zone with one exception, Curry explained.
He explained the exception will be at the intersection of 1st street and U.S. 160, where traffic will go down to one lane with an alternating signal.
Curry added there will be “mostly night work” at that location.
He also noted that CDOT will work with the school district to ensure access for drop-off and pickup lines during the school year.
Curry mentioned there are certain streets that will not be allowed to close at the same time. Those include:
• 4th Street and Lewis Street.
• 2nd Street and 3rd Street.
• 8th Street and Hot Springs Boulevard.
• 8th Street and 10th Street.
Curry also explained that the contractor will need to submit a schedule for the work, and CDOT will meet weekly with the contractor to review a two-week outlook to outline what work will be taking place.
The contractor will also meet once a month with CDOT to identify the critical path and items the contractor has to do “to get from this point to this point,” Curry said, noting that the contractor has to submit critical path plans in order to receive payment.
He added, “Multiple operations at separate locations will be allowed in order to coordinate different elements of the work such as utility adjustments, relocations.”
Curry also spoke about phasing of the project and that it “needs to take into account the seasonal business nature of the town: June, July and August.”
Curry noted that traffic volumes will be “significantly increased” in those times, and additional outreach and coordination with business owners will be necessary.
Traffic will be allowed to travel on unpaved surfaces for no more than 14 days, Curry mentioned.
“Traffic shall not be delayed by more than 15 minutes unless approved by the engineer,” he added.
Later in the meeting a member of the public commented he has sat in traffic for longer than 15 minutes at the junction of U.S. 160 and U.S. 84, and asked what would be an acceptable amount of time to expect from the delay, asking if that would be an hour or two hours.
Curry explained that the flaggers will be instructed to alternate traffic every 15 minutes, and that it may take longer than that to actually be able to drive through the construction zone.
However, Curry mentioned, “I don’t think we’ll have anything going on for that length of time, to be honest,” and that a situation like that would need to be addressed immediately.
Curry added that the project manager will be notified if excessive backups are occurring.
He further explained that access to all businesses must be continuous to pedestrian traffic.
“All of these things are in here primarily for, one, safety for everybody,” Curry said.
He also noted that the contractor will have to work with business and property owners who have driveways connecting to U.S. 160, and that the contractor must maintain access to at least some of the driveway space.
“We know Pagosa Springs gets congested in the summertime,” he said, noting that the community is congested right now and nothing is going on.
“So, we’re gonna try to keep traffic moving through the town,” he added.
Curry reiterated that these limitations and guidelines are in place for safety, and not for convenience.
“There’s going to be times of inconvenience for everyone,” he said.
The project will span at least two seasons, with a winter shutdown, Curry explained, adding that the winter shutdown date is not a defined date and is dependent upon weather.
“Clearly we’re not going to be working during the middle of winter,” he said.
He noted that the shutdown will last approximately 50 to 60 days, depending on snowfall, adding the earliest restart date could be in March 2026, but likely no later than April 1, 2026.
Curry explained that alterations can be discussed during the weekly and monthly meetings between CDOT and the contractor, but that major changes require “much more advanced discussion.”
When asked by a member of the public if CDOT anticipates more than one bid on the project this time, Curry replied, “We sure hope so.”
He explained that CDOT has been “selling” this project in Denver to the Colorado Contractors Association.
“We do have contractors that are interested in it,” he added, explaining that the timing will likely fit into contractors’ schedules better this go around.
“I’m hoping to get more bids,” he said.
Curry also replied to a question in regard to the winter shutdown, noting that “construction evidence” will be everywhere, but that two lanes of traffic will be maintained.
Curry also spoke about concerns of CDOT being able to cover the cost differences compared to the previous bid that was denied.
He noted that CDOT has been able to “find budget” to cover the new estimated cost of the project, “and, surprisingly, it came out to what the first bid was — imagine that.”
He also explained that once a contractor submits a bid for the job, “that’s his price,” and that contractors take the market into account when they submit a bid.
In response to a question about if any of the restrictions that the local business representatives came up with made it into the contract, Curry explained that all utility work is required to be completed before any paving can be done.
He explained that part of the contractor’s bid submission will outline how they plan on completing the utility work, but “we simply can’t dictate where a contractor works when for convenience,” adding that limitations can only be put in place for safety or congestion concerns.
He explained that anytime CDOT tries to dictate a specific time frame for pieces of the project, CDOT takes on a risk of time and money.
He noted that CDOT did review that option and found that it would increase the total cost by one-third and would add at least 72 working days.
“We’ve been scraping under the cushions for this job,” he added.
Schwantes explained that prior to the selection of a contractor, a preconstruction meeting will be held to identify the critical components of the project.
“Please know that we are going to do our best to have your back and express those concerns to them,” she said.
Schwantes also mentioned that CDOT has determined the size of the median cannot be reduced due to safety concerns.
Curry noted that the median is to help reduce the number of side-swipe accidents, “which we have a history of.”
He noted the median will have a hard surface and the Pagosa Fire Protection District has acknowledged it will still be able to get emergency response vehicles through the area.
Mayor and Main Street board member Shari Pierce asked about the number of days and hours per week crews will be working.
Curry explained that it will be a “mostly daytime operation” with crews working Monday through Friday.
He noted that occasional weekend work might occur, which would have to be approved by the project manager.
One audience member asked if CDOT will be putting in a traffic light at the junction of U.S 160 and U.S 84, to which Schwantes explained that will not be a part of this reconstruction project, but that CDOT’s traffic and safety division is currently studying that intersection.
The issue of parking was also brought up with questions about what is being done.
Main Street Advisory Board chair Rick Holter explained that a task force has been working on the issue and is coming up with multiple solutions.
Curry added that there will be no parking on the street due to safety reasons, but that the overlook parking lot will remain open.
One member asked if the new pavement will be able to handle the large volume of semis that come through Pagosa.
Curry replied that the new pavement will be 9.5-inch-thick concrete and should be “more than enough” to withstand heavy truckload traffic.
He mentioned that the utility work will need to be completed before any concrete can be placed, also acknowledging a concern about having geothermal lines replaced.
He mentioned that some of the geothermal lines will need to be replaced as part of the project, along with water, sewer, electric and fiber lines.
“I think about every type of utility you can think of is getting moved or replaced,” he said.
In response to a question about if businesses will be responsible for relocating any private utility lines, Pagosa Springs Community Development Director James Dickhoff explained that the town is planning on working with contractors to perform work on private utility lines that may need to be replaced and moved.
He also noted that all the utility work needs to be completed before the concrete is set.
In response to a concern about traffic being routed onto Lewis Street, Curry explained that CDOT never detours traffic onto non-state roads.
“The only thing I can say is that the locals know where to go,” Curry said.
Schwantes added that educating locals with tips and tricks on how to navigate through the construction is also part of the process.
“Please walk a couple extra blocks to come to work … things like that,” she mentioned.
Holter indicated that the board will be putting together a “survival kit” that will have helpful information on how to navigate around the disturbances from the construction.
“We know construction is painful,” Schwantes said, adding that CDOT is excited to move forward with the project.
Schwantes commented that there is a “dedicated and enthusiastic” group of people in the Pagosa community involved in this project.
“We want to join forces with them so we can make this project a success,” she said.
clayton@pagosasun.com
