US 160 Wolf Creek Pass Fiber & Safety Systems
As of November 14, 2022, the US 160 Fiber Optic Installation between Wolf Creek Pass and Pagosa Springs will be shutting down for the winter. To date, the project has accomplished 8,326 linear feet of conduit, manholes, and pull boxes have been placed between the ski area to Treasure Falls.
The project is expected to resume in March 2023, with final completion of the project scheduled for August 2023.
Thank you and have a safe and wonderful winter!
Project Facts
- Cost: $7.9 million
- Contractor: Paonia
- Timeline: May 2022 - May 2023
- Location: US 160 from Pagosa Springs to the east side of Wolf Creek Pass, Archuleta & Mineral Counties
About the Project:
On May 23, the Colorado Department of Transportation, in partnership with Paonia, Inc., will begin a project to install fiber optic cable and additional dynamic safety signage on US 160 between Pagosa Springs and the east side of Wolf Creek Pass. The work will be completed in May of 2023, with a winter suspension anticipated from late November through mid-February; these dates are subject to change dependent on weather circumstances.
This project was made possible, in part, through a $4.4 million Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) grant awarded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The fiber optic cable will connect with existing fiber that was installed in 2017 along a 16-mile stretch of the US 160 mountain corridor from Wolf Creek Pass east tunnel to the community of South Fork.
The project will also include the installation of new and upgraded dynamic signs that will provide additional safety and warning messages to all Wolf Creek Pass travelers regarding road and weather conditions, lowered speeds and the westside hairpin turn.
Work Schedule
- Work is scheduled to begin in mid-May of 2022 and is expected to last until May of 2023. Daytime work will occur Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
- This project will require a winter suspension period, which is estimated to take place starting in November 2022 through early 2023.
Traffic Impacts
- Depending upon the section under construction, US 160 may be reduced to single-lane traffic intermittently in either direction, throughout the duration of the project.
- When work is underway across any of the four bridges, in the valley east of Pagosa Springs, motorists will encounter single-lane, alternating traffic, with delays that could extend beyond 15 minutes, depending on traffic queues. The speed limit will be reduced through the work zones. Traffic fines in the construction zone will be doubled.
