Editor’s Note: The Colorado Department of Transportation changed the speed limit signage through Blue River from 50 to 45 mph on Wednesday morning, Sept. 25, according to Blue River Town Manager Michelle Eddy.

In the span of a week, the town of Blue River has experienced three serious crashes along a section of Colorado Highway 9 where the state transportation department has promised to lower the speed limit.

Blue River Police Chief David Close said Tuesday, Sept. 24, that the stretch of Highway 9 that passes through Blue River can be “very dangerous,” especially due to the numerous private driveways that intersect with it.

Between Sept. 14 and Sept. 24, three crashes occurred along this stretch of highway, all of which resulted in injuries, Close said. He noted that the Colorado Department of Transportation has said it will reduce the speed limit in this area, from about mile marker 80 to mile marker 86, from 50 mph down to 45 mph.

“We were kind of hoping once the snow melted that we’d get new (speed limit) signs up,” Close said. “Now we’re heading back into winter. They are promising to get those signs changed hopefully soon but we just don’t know. It’s not in our control.”

The first crash on Colorado Highway 9 in Blue River occurred around 4:15 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, between a Chrysler Pacifica that was performing a U-turn and a Toyota Tundra driving behind it, according to Colorado State Patrol Sgt. Patrick Rice. The driver that made the U-turn was transported to the hospital with injuries following the crash, Rice said. He said the driver was cited for an improper U-turn.

Blue River Town Manager Michelle Eddy said in an email that another crash occurred around 7:30 a.m. Sept. 18, when two vehicles collided head-on in the southbound lane of Colorado Highway 9 near Whispering Pines Circle. Both drivers — one of whom was an unlicensed minor — were transported to the hospital, Eddy, said. Both vehicles sustained major damage. 

The third recent crash on Highway 9 in Blue River was a “T-bone” crash that occurred between a Dodge Charger performing a U-turn and a Honda Pilot around 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21, Rice said. The driver of the Dodge Charger sustained serious injuries and the two occupants of the Honda Pilot also sustained injuries, he said. The crash closed the road for two hours that day.

Eddy noted that the town is still awaiting the speed limit change in this area, which she said the town hopes will make the about 5-mile stretch of Highway 9 in Blue River safer.

A fatal crash between a drunk driver and a group of vacationers also occurred along this stretch of Highway 9 in Blue River last year. The crash resulted in the death of a 22-year-old and left three others with lifelong injuries. A judge later sentenced the drunk driver, who walked away from the crash uninjured, to 16 years in prison.

The Colorado Department of Transportation did not return a request for comment Tuesday afternoon about when the speed limit change would be completed.

“The section of Highway 9 through the town of Blue River has also experienced a spike in animal strikes involving bear, moose, and deer,” Eddy said. “The police department is hopeful the planned reduced speed limit reduces the number of crashes and severity.”