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Wilson Gulch Road set for October opening

Road will stay closed during Bridge to Nowhere repairs
Wilson Gulch Road will connect to the roundabout at the north end of the Bridge to Nowhere in October. The road has faced several days, and the landscaping and sidewalks are expected to be finished in September. It will stay closed until the Bridge to Nowhere repairs are finished.

After a series of delays, the main access for a new commercial district near Three Springs Wilson Gulch Road may be open in October.

The three-quarter of a mile road will connect the Grandview Interchange, also known as the Bridge to Nowhere, to the existing end of Wilson Gulch Road near Mercy Regional Medical Center. It will be finished in September, City Engineer Gregg Boysen told the Durango City Council on Tuesday.

The median and street trees are expected to be in place by Sept. 6, Boysen said. Then crews will put a final layer of asphalt on the road, City Manager Ron LeBlanc said.

But the city is going to keep the road closed until the repairs on the Grandview Interchange are finished, he said.

The ramps leading to the interchange are settling an abnormal amount, and repair work was scheduled to start last week.

The city’s contractor is doing the repairs, so that the state agency did not have to go through a public bidding process, which would have delayed the project further, LeBlanc said. But CDOT will pay for $400,000 in repairs on the bridge.

Wilson Gulch Road was expected to be finished last fall, but it was set back by spring and summer rains, which slowed compaction of the road.

Landscaping and sidewalks also had to rescheduled until this year because of a lack of funds in the budget.

Initially, the city of Durango, La Plata County and the Colorado Department of Transportation contributed $8.2 million for the project, but the city couldn’t find a contractor to complete the project for that price.

So the city set aside about $1 million in its 2016 budget for a median with trees along the street and a 10 foot wide shared-use trail. This trail connects with a spur of the SMART 160 trail that is under construction. The SMART 160 trail eventually will stretch between Three Springs and the Animas River Trail.

The landscaping on either side of the road will be done by commercial developers.

There is commercial interest in the area, but no company has yet to commit, LeBlanc said. Applications for new construction generally come in the fall and start the next spring.

The Growth Fund Real Estate Group, a Southern Ute Indian Tribe company, has prepared lots for new retail stores, and it is approved for 256,000 square feet of retail space. More retail space is planned north of Wilson Gulch Road, but it is under other ownership.

mshinn@durangoherald.com

Jan 2, 2020
Car dealership could be first business at Three Springs center
Oct 13, 2016
Wilson Gulch Road nears completion
Jun 18, 2016
Thousands of homes still to come in Three Springs
Sep 26, 2015
Wilson Gulch over budget


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