The Pagosa Springs Town Council and Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners held a joint work session on Monday, March 23, at which the two entities were provided with an update on the U.S. 160 reconstruction project by one of the project’s public information officers, Meredith Greene.
Greene started by explaining that season two of the reconstruction project officially kicked off on March 16, though full-time crews have been on-site since March 9.
“Reason being is we have quite a bit of work to tackle this season of construction,” Greene said.
She explained that crews have already finished milling the south side of U.S. 160 from the 100 block through halfway of the 400 block on Pagosa Street.
Greene mentioned that once the subgrade is put down, then paving can occur.
“We are getting ready to pour concrete soon, which is very exciting,” she said, explaining that the first concrete pour scheduled for this week will be the mid-block crossing on the 400 block of Pagosa Street.
She then explained that the first “official” concrete pour of the season will take place on April 6 (weather permitting), which will be the north side of the 700 block of San Juan Street, followed by the 100 and 200 blocks of Pagosa Street.
Concurrently, crews will start looking at the 400 block of Pagosa Street, along with the “dogleg” — the corner by the old county courthouse and river overlook parking entrance.
Greene emphasized, “We haven’t forgotten about the 400 block,” explaining there were some “elevation challenges” with the sidewalk on the 400 block the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) worked with town on.
“Which is why we paused some of the work there going into the holidays,” Greene said.
She added that with good weather, “that’s gonna be one of the things we’re tackling here pretty quickly.”
She went on to mention that pouring for the 100 to 300 blocks of Pagosa Street will follow after the 700 block of San Juan Street in early April, noting that the roadway will be poured first and then curb and gutter, followed by sidewalks.
Greene also indicated that she will be back on-site more, working and communicating with business owners to let them know what to expect as paving dates get closer.
She explained that mid-April “is when we are really gonna have to dig in and tackle the dogleg from the middle of the road going out.”
She added, “Thats gonna be a bit of a challenge.”
She asked for everybody’s patience as traffic will be cut down to one alternating lane overnight while crews are working on that section.
She mentioned that more messaging will be put out once that time comes, “but that will be anticipated for two weeks.”
She added, “We want to get that section done as much as you want to get that section done.”
Greene mentioned that the theme of April will be, “let us rip the Band-Aid off, please, so we can get all this knocked out before summer.”
She explained that the timing of this portion of the project was chosen to get “all of this heavy-duty stuff done” before Memorial Day weekend.
Green then acknowledged questions about the Lewis Street she’s received in regard to the timing and expected length of the closure.
“There is every type of utility that needs to be tackled under that section of Lewis that one could imagine,” she said, adding, “It’s very delicate.”
She explained the utility lines cross over and under each other, “and we can’t have the work happen concurrently.”
She described the work as “almost like open-heart surgery,” with each utility specialist coming in one at a time.
“Thats why it will be closed,” she said, noting the hope is to have that intersection open by the end of May.
“Some of the most detailed work that we are taking on is happening right now, pretty much through the end of May,” Greene said, noting that includes the dogleg section and Lewis Street intersection.
Greene also added that CDOT is trying to be “as transparent as possible” and doing its best to keep everyone informed.
Town council member Leonard Martinez asked for clarification on if the goal is to have the entire north side of the roadway paved by the end of May, with Greene carefully indicating that is the goal.
Greene explained that other than one section near the Lewis Street and 5th Street intersection, and some paving in the 500 to 600 blocks of San Juan Street, crews are aiming to have the Lewis Street access reopened and all of the north side of the roadway paved by the end of May.
Greene explained that the focus right now is getting all of the utility work complete, as the actual paving part of the project is the “easy part” and will only take a few days.
In response to a question from council member Gary Williams, Green explained that crews did not have a large truck sweeper to use over last fall and winter, but that “the intent is to keep cleaning” gravel and dirt in front of businesses.
Commissioner Veronica Medina then asked about potholes on U.S. 160 near 7th Street and if there were any plans to have that fixed anytime soon.
“We are acutely aware of that pothole,” Greene said, explaining that crews have been filling it periodically with millings as hot-mix asphalt plants are not open yet.
She noted that as soon as the asphalt plants are open and running for the season the pothole will be patched.
Greene also mentioned that is just a temporary solution until the concrete paving is finished.
“We’re aware that it’s an issue,” she said.
Mayor Shari Pierce asked about the possibility of opening up parking in the 100 and 200 blocks of Pagosa Street once concrete is poured there.
Greene explained that has been a question internally, as well, noting that it is not her decision, but stated, “I think that could be considered.”
clayton@pagosasun.com
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