The start date for US 160 project moved around March 24th

On February 27, the Cone Zone Care Committee, an offshoot of the Main Street Advisory Board, organized a public update of the upcoming US 160 reconstruction project by Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) through Downtown Pagosa Springs.

At the packaging meetings in Motel Soco, representatives of the city of Pagosa Springs, the Cone Zone Committee as well as CDOT and its contractor were for the project, WW Clyde and Companies.

The update was temporarily controversial, whereby local business owners were expressed misfortune with the original planned start date of March 17, which would have been possible during the busy tourist season in the spring break.

Local business owners advocated delaying the project by a week, one said that it was “crushed” for companies in the city center when the project begins the week of March 17th.

The following day, CDOT and his contractor stated that they had heard themselves publicly on this topic, and announced that they would delay the project by a week, with the updated start date for March 24th.

Meredith Greene, one of CDOT's public information managers for the project, said that the contractor had made the date of the date as a good community partner.

On March 3, CDOT revealed more detailed information on the planned work, phase and work plans of the project in an open house in which cards and posters were shown to the public.

The CDOT information website on the project explains that the scope of work in the city center includes:

• Transition to a concrete road between the North 8th Street and the North 1st Street.

• Pedestrian curb with flashing signs near the 3rd street, the 2nd street and the 6th Street.

• Improvements of the ramps of the sidewalk with the Americans with disabilities.

CDOT says that “replacing the asphalt by concrete increases the lifespan and the lifespan of the street and requires less frequent maintenance” and that concrete is less susceptible to weather damage and regular wear than asphalt.

According to the CDOT, the project is planned for the last two construction times.

Greene and the colleague of public information, Tracy Trugrove, explained that the first season of the project will include barricades and the establishment of the work zone.

Greene encouraged all affected business owners to report to E -Mail updates. “So everyone is informed” about what happens.

She also explained that you will draw business owners as far as possible in advance if the main load of the work zone would affect their business.

“If we know that we influence you, we will contact you with you,” said Greene and assured that two lanes, one in each direction and the pedestrian's access to take place during the construction remain open.

The coordinator of Main Street Advisory Board, Kathleen McFadden, said that the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation (PSCDC), in coordination with the Economic Development District 9 in the southwest of Colorado, has set up a business increase program to experience companies during the reconstruction project.

McFadden described the program as “inexpensive loans to companies” during the CDOT project, but also said that it had heard of the public “loud and clear” that business owners prefer “grants, no loans”.

She explained that Archuleta County had “intended 100,000 US dollars for the financing of scholarships.” We added: “We now combine this granting allowance with the loan allowance.”

She explained that she still finds out how the guidelines and the application process will work, “but we will give you the opportunity to get a inexpensive loan or a grant or maybe a combination of both.”

She added: “We are only happy to have this grant option now” and thanked the district commissioners for the available funds that were put on applause by the audience.

But some in the crowd expressed frustrated about what they saw as a low grant amount and said that they did not believe that the district's granting program will be sufficient to compensate for the lost income if the project caused significant economic disorders.

One of the main concerns for both business owners and customers is that there will be no parking spaces on the street in the USA via the work zone. It is estimated that up to 188 parking spaces in the city center will be lost during the project.

Rosanna Dufour, member of the bowling zone, which also cited a task force to compensate for parking during the building, explained that the Task Force in connection with the city “had temporarily negotiated parking west of the library and south of the Hot Spring Resort.

She added that with these two temporary parking spaces “we more than made up for the 188 places”.

A map of the available parking spaces during the building is distributed by the city and the Archulea County to help people aware of the available parking spaces, explained Dufour.

The Pagosa Springs City Councilor campaigned for the implementation of temporary public parking spaces during the project on March 4 on March 4.

Development director James Dickhoff said that “customers quickly turn around” to support shops in the city center during their business hours.

The staff recommended two -hour borders along the 1st Street, the North 2nd Street, the South 2nd Street, the 3rd Street between the Highway and the Lewis Street, in which Hermosa Street near Cotton Hole Park and the parking spaces in Town and Mary Fisher Parks, noted. Other areas also suggested parking two hours.

“In general, these are the areas,” he said, explaining that the Lewis Street would be the “most complicated” due to the middle school to implement park restrictions.

Parking spaces near the Spring Resort, the library and the reservoir Hill have no restrictions on time, says Dickhoff.

He recommended the introduction of 30-minute parking restrictions in the visitor center to turn off the parking lot during the day.

When asked in a later interview whether the employees would only implement the two -hour border during certain business hours, so that customers in the city center park on the street for a long time if they are to be rushed to drive, Dickhoff stated that the employees would take the problem into account.

Pagosa Springs police chief, Bill Rockensock, also found that time restrictions were only part of the original conversation at certain times, but that this could be taken into account before the new parking rules were implemented.

City contribution and upgrades

In cooperation with CDOT, the city of Pagosa Springs also replaces and updates outdated pension companies on the streets and the Main Street.

At the cone zone meeting, Dickhoff explained that it was important for the city to update the supply companies on the street, while the road is being torn down, as it would be “very expensive to repair supply companies in the future”.

The costs of the city for the project will be between 4 and 5 million US dollars and new street lamps, side street improvements, new road trees and new sidewalks in areas, the CDOT does not already improve, in addition to the upgrades of the supply companies, explained Dickhoff.

In a conversation after the meeting, the mayor Shari Pierce expressed that she informed the public about these important public investments in the city in order not only to improve the supply companies on the street, but also to make Main Street aesthetic.

At the meeting of the Council of March 4, the Council unanimously authorized the employees to issue up to 310,000 US dollars for new road lights for the main road corridor.

In a agenda item, it says that “the order for approximately 62 street lamps/poles and 14 intersection/zebrastadel lamps and rods applies.”

The employees recommended that you buy the purchase as quickly as possible, because “the steel used for the bars with American steel in Utah, the upcoming 25% tariffs for steel and aluminum will influence American steel products, so that the price increases of 25% are expected in the coming month”, according to the document.

Also at the meeting was the financing of the majority of the city's supply companies during the project with the city's financial advisor, Joey McLiney, and city administrator David Harris that the “part of the corrections” of the city would end up between $ 4 million and 5 million US dollars.

Harris noticed that the city could pay for these upgrades from its reserve fund, but this reimbursement of the fund is associated with certain uncertainties.

There are many “unknown people who could influence our sales tax collections,” said Harris, l have the possible effects on the business from the CDOT project and the impending possibility of a national recession.

The city simply does not know what will happen to the economy, stated Harris and recommended that the city “keep cash at hand”.

McLiney added that he could create a “reimbursement plan” for the council at a later date.

Support for local
Pursue

An audience at the KONE zone meeting said that the locals would now be more important than ever to support local companies during the construction project, which indicates that an advertising program should be implemented in order to ask people to “normally eat and support local companies.

Dufour found that the cone zone committee in connection with the Chamber of Commerce is just working on it and looking for a “forum” in which companies could develop ideas to support each other, and the community to “support these companies”.

“It is absolutely on our radar where we try to drive with this group,” she added.

Mike Coggins, who represented the CDOT contractor at the meeting, concluded with the words: “Pagosa Springs is a resilient community … We have a job to do and we will get through it. We will work together … and we will do it. “

Derek@pagosasun.com