To accommodate the annual Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, the Colorado Department of Transportation will close U.S. Highway 550 to vehicle travel for six hours on Saturday, May 24, between Purgatory Resort and Silverton. Motorists are urged to seek alternate routes between 7:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., or travel through the closure points before 7:30 a.m.
Motorists traveling north to Silverton early Saturday are urged to allow ample travel time to make it past Purgatory before the closure begins, leaving Durango no later than 6:45 a.m. The closure point at Purgatory is 25 miles north of Durango and is an approximate 35- to 45-minute drive from Durango.
This week, motorists should also plan for full stops and up to 20-minute delays at Deer Creek (mile point 59.3), a CDOT rockfall mitigation construction site located about 10 miles north of Purgatory. The CDOT work zone will have traffic signals in place 24/7 with full stops and alternating single-lane traffic in both directions. No work activity will happen over the holiday weekend, Friday through Monday, but the light signal will be operational.
During the race, motorists headed south between Hermosa and Durango will be detoured from Highway 550 onto County Road 203 at Hermosa Creek to Animas View Drive. Northbound traffic from Durango to Purgatory will proceed along Highway 550 following traffic control personnel, signage and cones set in place. Motorists must obey all traffic control signage and personnel.
Motorists will also experience brief delays and traffic impacts Saturday morning in Durango, along north Main Avenue, as several waves of cyclists are set to depart from 33rd Street and East Second Avenue. The first group of 600 professional cyclists will depart at 7:15 a.m., followed by about 2,000 cyclists at 8 a.m.
With multiple bicycle events taking place over the holiday weekend, drivers are reminded and urged to watch for cyclists and drive safely. For the past several weeks, CDOT maintenance crews have been maintaining and sweeping the highway to clear the road of debris, such as gravel and rocks.
Before the road closures on May 24, bicyclists must obey all traffic laws and 24/7 temporary traffic signals located on Highway 550 between Purgatory and Silverton.
For the safety of cyclists, vehicles and construction crews, cyclists must come to a full stop at the temporary work zone signals and can only proceed when the light is green. The work zones are single lane and only allow enough space for one-way single lane traffic. Disobeying the signals is against the law for both cyclists and motorists. Cyclists should wait their turn and follow traffic laws to avoid head-on accidents or injury.
CDOT encourages motorists to plan ahead and leave Durango by 6:45 a.m., if traveling to Silverton or points north, beyond Silverton. Likewise, travelers heading south from Silverton, Ridgway or Montrose on Highway 550 should be aware that the highway will be closed just south of Silverton.
Drivers may consider an alternate route via state Highway 145 through Telluride. This westerly route will add about one hour of additional driving time, taking approximately three hours from Durango to Telluride and ending in Ridgway (about 150 miles).
Continuing south on U.S. 550 to Silverton will add an additional 60 minutes of drive time (about 40 miles).
