Two Unrelated Incidents Close Highway US 550 During Morning Hours

April 30, 2014 - PROJECT UPDATE - Southwestern Colorado/CDOT Region 5 - DURANGO, CO — At approximately 8:15 a.m., Wednesday, April 30, 2014, construction crews hit a gas line at the northeast corner of College Drive. According to Tommy Humphrey, CDOT’s engineer for the US 160/550 CFI project, normal procedures were followed using high-pressure water and a vacuum truck to locate the line but a mini-excavator unintentionally ruptured the ¾ inch line.

As precautionary measures, an evacuation was put in to place for vehicles traveling in both directions on US 550/Camino del Rio from 9th Street to the Santa Rita Park intersection. At approximately 9:50 a.m., the gas line was tapped, and with no further safety concerns, both northbound lanes on US 550 and one southbound lane were reopened. At 10:30 a.m. traffic was restored and the CFI project work continued. For the remainder of the day, there will be one-lane closures in both 
directions on US 550 per the scheduled project closures.

In a separate incident at approximately 8:45 a.m., a wide-load truck not associated with the construction project attempted turning west onto 9th Street from US 550 to access US 160 from Roosa Avenue taking out the main signal pole and disrupting the signal lights at the 9th Street/Camino del Rio intersection. Traffic in all directions was shutdown until a flashing traffic signal could be restored. The collision tore out the concrete base of the signal pole; subsequently, 9th Street west to Roosa Avenue will be closed both directions for an undetermined amount of time. CDOT will need to dig a new hole, pour concrete and allow it to setup before the signal can be restored to its full functioning state.

HOW TO GET PROJECT INFORMATION: The best way to stay up-to-date on project progress, traffic impacts and more is to sign up for email and wireless (text) alerts. Go to CDOT's web site at www.coloradodot.info and click on the green cell phone icon in the upper right hand corner of the page. Enter your information and choose "US 160/550 Durango" under the "projects" list. If you would like to reach the project information team directly, please call the hotline at 970-238-1669 or email us at [email protected].