CDOT Hosts Public Open House on Revised Preferred Alternative for US 550 South Connection to US 160

At the open house, the public can view details of the refinement to the US 550 at US 160 Preferred Alternative, as well as other alternatives that were developed by an independent team over the past year. The open house will be held on Monday, December 1, 2014, from 4:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., at the Durango Public Library, 1900 East Third Avenue.

During the US 550 South Connection to US 160 Supplemental Final EIS (SFEIS) public review period that ended on August 27, 2012, Webb Ranch representatives submitted an additional US 550 alternative called R5. CDOT contracted an independent team of engineers and planners to evaluate the alternative and other potential alternatives.

The independent engineering firm completed the preliminary design of the R5 alternative (as submitted, it did not adequately show connection points with the existing US 550 or US 160, nor an intersection with CR 220). The firm also helped with a preliminary assessment of the environmental impacts. Additional items such as cost, logistics and constructability were considered, which is consistent with screening criteria utilized in the SFEIS. This work also included collection of updated data and outreach to La Plata County, the City of Durango, the Growth Fund Real Estate Group and property owners in the area.

Through the development and evaluation of the Webb Ranch’s R5 alternative, it was found to be not reasonable due to issues regarding safety, maintenance, environmental impacts, business/residential impacts, cost and more (full details are provided in the latest November 2014 newsletter at www.coloradodot.info/projects/us550-at-160/documents/us-550-newsletter-nov-2014-final.pdf). The independent team refined the original SFEIS Preferred Alternative (Revised G Modified or RGM) to a design variation located further west, called Revised G Modified 6 (RGM6).

The RGM6 alternative is the Preferred Alternative; please see the newsletter link above for further details on this. A Record of Decision (ROD) is expected in the spring of 2015.

PROJECT INFORMATION: For further information regarding the project, the public may log onto the project web site at http://www.coloradodot.info/projects/us550-at-160. For information on other CDOT projects, 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.