Drivers attempting to navigate traffic where U.S. highways 160 and 550 merge – commonly referred to as the DoubleTree intersection – may experience less congestion after the completion of a nearly $6.1 million road project starting next month.
It’s one of the most congested intersections on the Western Slope, and highway officials want to change that, said Michael McVaugh, Region 5 traffic and safety engineer for the Colorado Department of Transportation. About 30,000 to 45,000 cars use the thoroughfare per day depending on the time of year. McVaugh said fixing it will improve traffic through town.
“If you’re going north and south or east or west through Durango, you have to go through this intersection,” he said.
The project, expected to take about five months, is focused on relieving congestion and improving safety at the DoubleTree intersection and redesigning the intersection of West College Drive and Camino del Rio. Improvements also benefit pedestrians and bicyclists, including islands with raised crosswalks for foot traffic, green bike lane markings and bicycle-detecting traffic signals.
CDOT plans to install a continuous-flow intersection, which moves a left-hand turn lane away from the major intersection. Currently, northbound drivers on South Camino del Rio turning left onto Highway 160 must cross the path of oncoming traffic from the opposite direction. But by moving the left turn south from the intersection, it will reduce delays and accommodate more traffic, according to a 2010 report by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The left-turning traffic travels on a separated road, which is on the outside of the other lanes, toward the major intersection. At the intersection, they can go harmoniously with the opposing traffic. The city of Loveland, north of Denver, has the only such intersection in the state.
“I think it will make it easier to turn left going toward Cortez,” said City Councilor Sweetie Marbury. “I see that as a real advantage for commuters going out 160, Wildcat Canyon, tourists going toward Mesa Verde; that will really speed up the process.”
Transportation officials considered other options for the road, with one possibility being an interchange with flyover ramps, overpasses and underpasses. McVaugh said building an interchange would be at least triple the cost estimate of the continuous-flow intersection. To ensure fixing the DoubleTree intersection doesn’t raise congestion at West College Drive and Camino del Rio, CDOT is reworking the lanes and the signals. The city of Durango is paying CDOT $240,367 for some of the West College Drive work.
“We do have a lot of cars that come through that particular red light,” Marbury said. “I think it’ll be a big improvement, and I’m glad CDOT has the money to invest in Durango.”
Plans also include table-top pedestrian crossings, which are raised areas of road similar to speed bumps that help to slow traffic.
Traffic signals that detect bikes at stop lights also are planned.
“The radar is very good at detecting objects,” McVaugh said. “This is the first time we’ve had bike boxes for bike detection in Region 5.”
CDOT plans to mark bike boxes that emphasize where the bike lanes are and provide more space at stoplights for bicyclists. Durango was upgraded from a silver- to a gold-level Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists in 2012.
Cyclist Gaige Sippy said he hopes the changes make cycling in the city even more fun and safe for everyone.
“There are some efforts in place here to be more bicycle-friendly and have more traffic control, if you will, that is valued-added to that effort,” the Durango resident said. “I am a supporter of it, we all have to get along together out there, right? Bikes and cars.”
Durango has also slated $255,000 in this year’s budget for landscaping and a piece of public art on a triangular island planned for the intersection, which is an entry point.
Cristie May Scott, Durango Public Art Commission chairwoman, said the city and the state agency approached the commission with the idea. The chosen artist will get $25,000 to design a 3-D art piece, she said.
“This could be a landmark in a way,” Scott said. “We love that the city is thinking about public art.”
Construction is slated to start in mid-March and finish by the middle of August.
smueller@durangoherald.com
