Sections of Main Avenue and 14th Street in Durango will be closed for nearly two weeks, as the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Durango & Silverton Narrow-Gauge Railroad will make improvements to the intersection and train tracks.
The intersection connects North Main Avenue with downtown Main Avenue, Camino del Rio and 14th Street. It also includes D&SNG tracks that diagonally cross the intersection from the southwest to the northeast. The closures will begin at 6 p.m. Sunday.
It’s a well-traveled intersection, seeing approximately 28,000 vehicles in annual average daily traffic for 2023, according to CDOT data.
For approximately 11 days, Main Avenue will be closed from Camino del Rio to 13th Street. The east side of 14th Street will be closed from Camino del Rio to East Second Avenue.
CDOT spokeswoman Lisa Schwantes said D&SNG is making improvements to its train tracks and signaling, added improvements are projected to be complete by Nov. 8, after which the streets will reopen.
She said during the closure of Main Avenue and 14th Street, motorists on Camino del Rio and North Main Avenue may encounter periodic traffic holds.
“Once the two streets open again (after the 11 days), CDOT work will continue 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Motorists will continue to encounter periodic traffic holds until the project is completed at the end of November,” she said.
The city said in a news release that motorists can travel from East Third Street to Ninth Street as an alternative route while the closure is in effect. Traffic will be detoured to 13th Street and East Second Avenue.
A CDOT project description said Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant curb ramps will be constructed at every corner of the intersection of Main Avenue, 14th Street and Camino del Rio, making the sidewalks and crossings more accessible to people in wheelchairs and similar devices.
CDOT will remove the diagonal crosswalk from Camino del Rio to Main Avenue and reestablish a crosswalk across Camino del Rio, connecting Main Avenue to West 14th Street.
CDOT will also replace 30-year-old traffic signals and update D&SNG train signals. New sidewalks will be installed, and a dedicated through-lane will be designated for southbound traffic from North Main Avenue (U.S. Highway 550) onto Main Avenue. Two dedicated right-turn lanes will be preserved for continuing onto Camino del Rio.
The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is improving the railroad crossing at the intersection with about 160 feet of new train tracks. Those improvements include installing new tracks, placing new and smoother concrete at the crosswalks over the tracks and enhanced communications technology between the train and the new traffic signals, which will be installed by CDOT. The intersection approaches will also be repaved.
CDOT has also been working on improving and relocating the crosswalks at the intersection, installing wheelchair ramps, replacing the 30-year-old light signal with a newer more technologically advanced signal and adjusting lane configurations.
CDOT’s work on the intersection started last month. Both CDOT’s and D&SNG’s projects have been planned for several years.
D&SNG Superintendent of Operations Darren Whitten said the railroad obtained a federal grant to replace the train crossing at 14th Street and Main Avenue in addition to the crossing in front of the rail yard at West College Drive and Narrow Gauge Avenue.
Starting Monday, the existing train track at 14th Street and Main Avenue will be excavated. Railroad ties will be replaced with composite ties, recycled plastic material with a longer life expectancy than wooden railroad ties, he said.
He said larger and more resilient rails and concrete panels will be installed in the crossing. The city and CDOT will perform asphalt patching to complete the new crossing.
The concrete panels should make the crossing easier to navigate for wheelchair-bound people, cyclists and people using other wheeled transportation, a CDOT news release said.
D&SNG also plans to install signalization to alert train engineers when vehicles stop at traffic lights and the intersection is safe to pass through.
“The train always has the right of way through an intersection, but you know, to be comfortable to operate through there. The engineers usually are looking ahead to try to ensure that they've got a route through there without cross traffic,” he said.
CDOT will also install blank out signs, which are common at intersections of public roads and commuter rails across the country, to give motorists a better visual indication when a train is crossing.
When that work is completed, College Drive will close again for about 11 days to replace the crossing. The sidewalks on both sides of the street will receive ADA-compliant ramp upgrades.
A cantilever crossing – a tall pole with lights and bells that drops a horizontal blockade to stop traffic when a train approaches – will also be installed.
“We've had a security employee go out there with a high visibility vest and a stop sign and attempt to stop traffic,” he said. “And (that’s a) bit of a high risk scenario there with an employee standing out in the middle of traffic, trying to get people to stop,” he said.
The cantilever will eliminate the need to have a person direct traffic when a train is heading to or from the station.
cburney@durangoherald.com
