Are the residents of La Plata County aware that the Colorado Department of Transportation is planning to build a highway roundabout in the middle of Highway 160 at the intersection with County Road 225?
CDOT said it is doing this to slow down traffic. You read right – it wants to put an obstacle in the middle of a 60-mile per hour state highway. Instead of making real improvements to the highway, such as widening the highway and adding passing lanes to make the drive to Bayfield smoother and more efficient, CDOT is going to build an obstacle to make the drive slower and more congested.
CDOT estimates that big trucks and semis will have to slow to approximately 20 miles per hour to navigate this roundabout. Can you imagine the traffic congestion this will create at peak traffic periods and during the winter, when trucks will have to slow for this obstacle, then regain speed and momentum to make it up the hills on either side of this valley when the road is slick or icy?
The funding for this “improvement” has been allocated to CDOT, so it plans to start the work as soon as possible. If you would like to express your opinion, contact our local CDOT office. Make your voice heard.
Eric T. Lipp
Bayfield
