The completion of the overpass represents a significant milestone for the community, symbolizing its transformation from the 'Bridge to Nowhere' to the 'Bridge to the Future.' The recent event hosted by the Colorado Department of Transportation offered the public an early glimpse of the new highway and bridge, showcasing advancements in safety and wildlife protection. As traffic prepares to shift to the new interchange, CDOT project crews are ready to initiate the reclamation of US Highway 550 along Farmington Hill. With optimism for the project's future success, CDOT anticipates a safer and more reliable transportation route for the region, marking a promising chapter for the community. By Sadie Smith. This story is sponsored by Alpine Bank.
Colorado Department of Transportation - https://www.codot.gov
Alpine Bank - https://www.alpinebank.com
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The Bridge to Nowhere can now officially be referred to as the Bridge to the Future. On May 9th, the Colorado Department of Transportation hosted an event honoring the completion of the long awaited construction of the overpass. The event was an opportunity for the public to view the new highway and bridge before it opens to traffic in the upcoming weeks.
So we anticipating shifting new traffic onto the new alignment right after Memorial Day weekend. The project will not be fully completed at that point, 'cause we will still need to demolish Farmington Hill, and we will have a few button up items along the corridor. But the project, both lanes of traffic will be open to all traffic.
Along with the construction completion, wildlife crossings have been added in order to lower the number of wildlife related accidents, which occur frequently in the area.
All the wildlife crossings are completed. We have two large mammal underpasses and then we have a number of small mammal underpasses, and all those are completed at this point in time.
The Farmington Hill intersection has been a notorious accident site in the community. The completion of this overpass is expected to make a substantial safety improvement for vehicles.
We anticipate seeing crashes reduced by 50 to 60%.
After traffic is redirected to the new interchange, CDOT project crews will initiate the process of reclaiming US Highway 550 along Farmington Hill. A frontage road will replace the current highway, providing connections to the businesses on Farmington Hill.
We will actually be reclaiming the old road, we'll be removing all the asphalt and regrading the hill. And then we will have a frontage road that will be able to access the businesses that are at the top of Farmington Hill.
CDOT has high hopes for the future success of the completed project.
My hope is that it will be considered the Bridge to the Future now that everything's connected, and they can actually see the future of our corridor as we continue to work south.
The Bridge to the Future celebrates a milestone on the long awaited US Highway 550 alignment, creating a safer and more reliable transportation route. We're proud to present Community Insights, powered by the Local News Network and sponsored by Alpine Bank. With Community Insights, our mission is to foster a stronger and more connected community in La Plata County and beyond. For more information about this and other stories, visit durangolocal.news. Thank you for watching this edition of Community Insights. I'm Sadie Smith.
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