Highway closures to occur between Durango and Silverton at the end of this month

The section of U.S. Highway 550 that will be closed for several hours on the afternoons of Aug. 25 through 28. (Courtesy of CDOT)

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The section of U.S. Highway 550 that will be closed for several hours on the afternoons of Aug. 25 through 28. (Courtesy of CDOT)

U.S. Highway 550 between Durango and Silverton will experience daily four-hour closures in both directions in late August, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

The closures, headed up by CDOT, will take place Aug. 25 through Aug. 28 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

Northbound traffic will be stopped at milepost 56.6, just north of the Coal Bank Pass overlook and Pass Creek trailhead, and southbound traffic will be stopped at mile post 63, at Andrews Lake Road, according to a CDOT news release.

The closures are being done to allow for the installation of a retaining wall under the highway and a new culvert under the road near the summit of Coal Bank Pass, according to the release.

“Motorists should plan accordingly and schedule all travel around the set closure times or consider the alternate north-south route via Colorado Highway 145 through Telluride,” the release said.

“Additionally, motorists can continue to expect full stops and up to 20-minute delays at both traffic signal locations between mile point 56 and MP 60 throughout the duration of the project,” it said.

The release said CDOT has been working since May 12 on the Highway 550 Rockfall Mitigation and Wall Replacement project, which has involved rock removal and slope excavation, and has completed another project involving stabilizing and reinforcing the subgrade under the road near Coal Bank and Engineer Mountain Trailhead.

epond@durangoherald.com