When longtime employees retire, they usually impart words of wisdom or tricks of the trade to their successors. For retiring Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Nancy Shanks, she leaves to her heir a bridge that leads to nowhere – for now.
The planned $47 million interchange at U.S. highways 550 and 160 has dominated Shanks’ 19-year career in La Plata County, a project that was supposed to realign U.S. 550 away from a dangerously steep hill and connect the north side of the road to an area expected to see massive development.
Yet in 2006, CDOT planners hit a snag when an affected property owner raised concerns that the department overlooked archeological sites that date to 1000 AD, an old ranch that holds an historic designation and a gas well that would have literally been in the middle of the proposed road.
For the ensuing decade, the division was hit with criticism for the oversight, and a sort of war of words was waged through letters to the editor and social media. Eventually, the lame duck overpass, which was completed in 2011, earned the moniker: “The Bridge to Nowhere.”
“I saved them all,” Shanks said of news clippings, which lay in a stack of files concerning the project that towers above the rest.
Within the last year, all interested parties agreed on an altered route that skirts the western edge of the mesa rather than going through the middle of the Webb ranch property. Shanks said in hindsight, the ultimate benefit from the huge project disruption is that a better plan was developed.
“Now we just need the money,” she said. “That’s the tricky part.”
Shanks said as the regional communications director for the department, her job wasn’t to change anyone’s perception whether an interchange was warranted, a recurring criticism of the project.
“I can’t change your mind, but I can sure give you all the information you need to make your own decision,” she said.
Shanks stressed that the department’s task is to build for the future. So even though the bridge quite literally leads to nowhere now, once funding becomes available, the infrastructure and plans are in place.
Still, Shanks said she doubts the overpass will ever lose its nickname.
Residing in her regionShanks, 49, began her career with CDOT in 1997 at the department’s Denver office. But in 2003, when the opportunity arose to move back to the Western Slope and become the first communications manager to be a resident in the region, she took it.
“The fact that I lived here and know and drive the roads is a great benefit to my job,” she said. “It’s been great here.”
A California native, Shanks moved to Dolores when her mother remarried, and the family bought the Outpost Motel, which now has different ownership.
In the 1980s, Shanks’ mother, Shirley Murphy, became the director of the Durango Chamber of Commerce and relocated the family to Durango. Shanks split her college career at Fort Lewis College and the University of Colorado-Boulder, and spent some time out of state before landing the CDOT job.
“I came on board as a writer/editor, but soon things started changing, with social media and emails taking over faxes,” she said. “We just needed to meet the needs of media and the public and become PR experts.”
Office transitionsThe CDOT office in Durango is undergoing a shakeup of sorts, emphasized by the 19-year career retirement of Shanks.
“There’s a lot of changes going on around here,” said Shanks, whose last day is April 29. She said she plans to take some time to travel, then come back to Durango to work as a privately-contracted public relations officer.
Regional director Karrie Neet is taking a year off to go hiking “off the grid.” Traffic engineer Mike McVaugh will take Neet’s place, leaving his position open.
McVaugh, who has been with CDOT for 25 years, will take charge of the more than 342 employees who are responsible for the 15-county area in Southwest and south-central Colorado.
Fortunately, Shanks said, her replacement is no stranger to Southwest Colorado. Lisa Schwantes has lived in Durango since 1987, working as a community outreach liaison for various agencies.
She’s been contracted by the Durango Chamber of Commerce, Fort Lewis College, Region 9 Economic Development Office, La Plata County Development Alliance and the Southwest area health education center.
“This just seemed like a natural fit in terms of learning about a new part of our community,” Schwantes said.
Asked if she’s ready to carry on the next chapter of the legacy of The Bridge to Nowhere: “I guess I’m inheriting that, aren’t I?” she said on April 4 – her first day of work.
jromeo@durangoherald.com