Road improvements are coming this summer to Durango’s main thoroughfare, Camino del Rio (U.S. Highway 550), that might leave some travelers feeling safer and others gnashing their teeth.
The Colorado Department of Transportation plans to begin construction in June on Camino del Rio between Eighth Street and 14th Street, part of a plan that CDOT and the city of Durango jointly adopted in 2009. The goal is to improve safety, mobility and access for ever-increasing traffic on the north-south corridor.
“The concerns we’ve heard is that it’s going to cripple the entire corridor and congest it. That’s definitely not the case, based on what we’ve seen in the (traffic) model,” said Julie Constan, an engineer with CDOT Region 5, at a City Council study session Tuesday.
The half-mile stretch of Camino del Rio next to downtown Durango is a primary thoroughfare for much of the community. It helps funnel traffic for two major highways, U.S. 160 and U.S. 550, which connect to Pagosa Springs, Cortez, Silverton and Farmington.
Pedestrians and cyclists must cross it to travel to downtown shops, the Animas River Trail, hotels, restaurants and residences.
And traffic along the road is only increasing: CDOT traffic monitors recorded a 10% increase since 2013.
In a few areas, traffic clusters have created safety concerns and mobility issues.
CDOT aims to make the road safer for vehicles, Constan said, highlighting reports of rear-end and roadside crashes on Camino del Rio through downtown Durango.
As a major corridor for highway traffic, vehicles also need to be able to keep moving, and changes need to maintain access to businesses along the way.
“Without prudent action by the public agencies, there is an increased probability that the safety and mobility of 550/Camino del Rio will degrade to unacceptable levels,” Sarah Hill, Durango staff member, wrote in a report to Durango City Council.
CDOT is in the final planning stages for installing concrete medians, bicycle lanes, improvements to the 12th Street crosswalk, and other crosswalk and turning lane upgrades. The state plans to advertise for construction in March before beginning the projects in June.
The concrete medians will stretch from just south of Ninth Street to 14th Street. They will change how vehicles turn at south City Market and Town Plaza, adding some pressure to the 11th Street intersection with Camino, according to the state’s traffic model.
Camino del Rio used to have medians in the 1980s before the state removed them at the request of former city councilors. Without the medians, vehicle crashes increased significantly, Constan said.
“They do provide traffic calming: Having concrete in the middle of the highway provides friction for cars and vehicles as they’re traveling through there and helps slow them down,” Constan said. “It also reduces crashes.”
CDOT installed medians in 2013 from the intersection of highways 550 and 160 up to Seventh Street. Since then, CDOT has recorded a 44% reduction in broadside crashes even as traffic increased during the same period.
The medians would replace two-way left-turn lanes. But those are only recommended when the traffic volume is less than 28,000 vehicles per day. Camino has reached 30,000 vehicles per day, Constan said.
At the intersection of Ninth Street and Camino, CDOT plans to change crosswalks so pedestrians cross along the northern side of the intersection.
The road improvements will add bike detection and bike boxes and increase the length of the right turning lane on Ninth Street on the east side of the intersection.
The intersection will also include curb ramps that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was one of the Durango Multimodal Advisory Board recommendations.
At 12th Street, CDOT plans to increase visibility at the crosswalk by adding a pole and mast arm, which will extend across the highway.
The current signal, which flashes yellow or red when pedestrians are crossing, has been known to confuse motorists and spark safety concerns for pedestrians.
CDOT’s plan does not include a pedestrian refuge in the middle of the road, as requested by the Multimodal Advisory Board. That is, in part, because fire trucks need to be able to physically turn out of a fire station at the intersection, Constan said.
City Councilor Barbara Noseworthy asked: “If the fire station relocates, what considerations would be given to eventually putting in a pedestrian refuge at what most people consider one of the most dangerous crosswalks in the city?”
Constan replied: “If the fire station moves ... we would definitely reconsider.”
Councilor Melissa Youssef asked about lowering the speed limit on the road in response to a community member’s concern. But the minimum speed limit allowed on state highways is 25 mph, according to state statutes.
“That is pretty darn low, especially with the volume of traffic that you’re talking about here,” said Mike McVaughn with CDOT. “Without enforcement, I don’t think you’re going to see compliance to 25 in this corridor.”
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