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Intersection by the Arc of History should have been a beautiful entrance

It can be described in a variety of ways, but the adjective that comes to mind first is ugly. Clean. Smooth. Functional and maintenance-free are also useful. Those and other user-friendly descriptions can be applied to the new look provided by the Colorado Department of Transportation and the city of Durango for the center medians of the intersection of U.S. Highway 550/160 and Camino del Rio.

But ugly does it best.

The medians that received the bland facelift are just across the asphalt from the landscaped, irrigated island that holds the Arc of History. For many locals not enamored with the sculpture, the removal of all living plants from the medians seems like an addition of insult to a previous injury.

“Is it the nicest intersection in the state? Maybe not,” said Levi Lloyd, Durango’s director of city operations. Lloyd added that he thinks the gravel is a big improvement over the tangle of wildflowers and weeds that grew in the medians until the end of April.

That is debatable. What is more important is that it misses the point. Statistics from CDOT show that the intersection is the busiest one on the Western Slope, and as such the appearance of the intersection, including the medians, plays a key role in creating a first impression of Durango. As the gateway to Durango from every direction save north, including via the airport, the intersection should be the nicest in the state, or at least a contender for the title.

Going with gravel was the expedient choice, but not the best one. Gravel offers the convenience of not having to maintain the medians, but the end appearance is stark and uninviting, the lasting impression unwelcome. Visitors arriving from points south, where desert communities like Phoenix and Albuquerque sport hundreds of barren medians, might wonder for a moment if they have missed a turn and arrived back in the desert.

The project to create a continuous flow intersection to alleviate chronic traffic congestion was a big one, costing just shy of $7 million. As an engineering project, it has been successful. We are not welcoming so many visitors to town with a traffic jam. But in aesthetic terms, it has been less successful, regardless of one’s opinion of the sculpture. Wildflower seed mixes were planted in the medians in hopes of keeping them colorful and lively, but by going that route, CDOT and the city are learning the hard way what so many local gardeners know: Any plot planted with a wildflower mix will also grow weeds. And despite the promises from the seed catalogs, the weeds tend to grow better than the flower mixes. Without hands-on attention, weeds will take over the backyard, the patio planter or the highway median where they have taken root.

It is unfortunate that a little more thought to appearances did not go into the project. Running a few water pipes and insulating them in order to make the medians match the surroundings, or mixing a combination of trees and stamped concrete – like the medians just two blocks farther north on Camino del Rio – would have been an easy addition during construction.

It is unfortunate that Durango and CDOT missed an opportunity to make this most important entrance to town as attractive as the town itself.



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