Four-way Stop closing down for renovations

Main intersection getting a makeover

After more than eight years of planning, renovations on Crested Butte’s main intersection at Elk Avenue and Sixth Street are going ahead. The Four-way Stop intersection will be closed for construction starting on Friday, May 2 through mid-June.

“It’s finally happening,” says town building and zoning director Bob Gillie.
The closure will be between Sopris and Maroon Avenues on Sixth Street and between Fifth and Seventh streets on Elk Avenue, according to Gillie. Businesses that are fronting the construction area will be open during the intersection closure and can be reached through designated pedestrian access ways. Gillie said the Crested Butte/Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce and the main parking lot can be accessed from Maroon or Elk Avenue.
Crested Butte/Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce director Christi Matthews says the town has done a good job communicating with businesses affected by the closure. She says the Chamber is encouraging the town to have clear detour signs to alert people on how to reach Elk Avenue, the Visitor’s Center, day parking and Mt. Crested Butte. “We do have some visitors to town who come during this time,” Matthews says. The Chamber of Commerce is also printing some signs that will thank visitors for their patience as construction continues.
Drivers will be detoured onto Seventh and Fifth Streets.
The planned work is the continuation of the project that started last summer and saw the installation of new streetlights, sidewalks and crosswalks along Sixth Street in Crested Butte. This spring’s plans include shifting the roadway closer to the visitor’s center, moving the downhill bus drop-off to the west side of the intersection, adding two turn lanes and numerous sidewalk and lighting upgrades.
The entire Sixth Street project has been funded with town monies and $322,000 in federal Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21) funds to improve the Sixth Street corridor. The town awarded the bid for the Four-Way Stop intersection contruction to a local company, Lacy Construction.
Plans are available for viewing at the Crested Butte Town Hall, 507 Maroon Avenue and questions can be directed to Bob Gillie at (970) 349-5338.
The Colorado Department of Transportation is also planning some construction locally. The department will spend $5.7 million this summer to overlay new asphalt on Highway 135 from just south of Cement Creek Road to the town of Crested Butte limits. That project will start in mid-July and end by September 30.