Town, CDOT huddle over entrance to town

Cottonwood Pass paving a factor?

by Mark Reaman

It won’t happen any time soon but the preliminary steps to re-work the Red Lady Avenue–Highway 135 intersection will be set in motion. Members of Crested Butte’s town staff met with representatives of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) in Montrose last month and talked about the intersection at the entrance to town that gets extremely busy during school hours.

Town planner Michael Yerman said the meeting was productive and the state agency would like to see a more detailed design plan for the intersection that they said could use a major facelift, given the awkward intersection of Seventh Street. Yerman said CDOT understood the need for good pedestrian access in the area.

“This is a five- to ten-year process,” emphasized Yerman. “It takes a while. You get on a list and when money becomes available they evaluate the list. Being shovel-ready to start a project puts you near the top of the list.”

Yerman said he was a bit surprised that the CDOT representatives were leaning toward a major project such as a roundabout, as opposed to a quick, cheaper fix by adding turning lanes, for example.

“They normally look for the cheapest way to go,” Yerman said. “But they said adding more pavement would speed up traffic, which would be counter to what the town is trying to do with a low speed limit. Looking at Seventh Street, they realized turn lanes were not a real option anyway. Frankly, I was surprised they said a roundabout was the preferred option.”

“It certainly makes sense to look at the whole picture and not just jump to a short-term fix, especially if the school numbers are growing and preliminary discussion is already starting about a possible need to expand the school up here,” said councilman Roland Mason.

Yerman said CDOT engineers could work in conjunction with the town’s traffic consultant firm, Kinley-Horn.

“I was not impressed with that particular consultant, so that would be my only hesitation,” said councilmember Skip Berkshire.

Councilman Jim Schmidt seconded that concern and Yerman said he would investigate some other firms that could possibly handle the design work. Yerman also emphasized that CDOT engineers would be heavily involved in any project.

Councilman Glenn Michel reminded Yerman that the council had balked at the estimated $1.4 million price tag for a roundabout at that location.

“There is usually something like a 20-80 split,” responded Yerman, “so the town would need to allocate some money. And they always say that the more a town puts in, the quicker the process goes.” He reemphasized that being shovel-ready is key.

Another element that seems to be influencing a positive CDOT reaction is the soon-to-be-paved Cottonwood Pass. “They were looking ahead and said with the paving of Cottonwood in the near future, they expected higher traffic counts for Crested Butte,” said Yerman.

The council agreed to let Yerman tap the transportation fund for about $5,000 to work with a transportation planning firm and CDOT to move toward a detailed design concept for the intersection.