Silverthorne town officials said they look to demolish the old Burger King building within the next 60 days to get moving on its traffic improvement plan that impacts roads near Interstate 70 Exit 205.

The town is planning to add two lanes to Stephens Way to create a four-lane road. This is aimed at easing congestion on the well-traveled road and is mandated by Silverthorne’s master transportation plan. Planning and preliminary design for the Stephens Way improvements are slated to occur in late 2024. 

One of the next steps in the plan is the demolition of the former Burger King building, which is set to occur in the next couple months. 

“We wanted to make sure that when folks are seeing Burger King getting demolished that they are reminded of what the purpose is of the town getting that building and taking it down,” town manager Ryan Hyland said.  

Also detailed in the town’s master transportation plan is the concept of a bridge that would go over the Blue River and would connect Adams Avenue to the stretch of Stephens Way heading towards Wildernest Road that is just before the interstate. 

The town’s master transportation plan also calls for a roundabout where Stephens Way intersects with Wildernest Road, where there is currently a traffic signal.

While the goal is to have construction of all three projects to occur at the same time, Hyland noted the bridge and the roundabout will likely follow the four-lane expansion. Town officials said ultimately completing the plan should take 10 years, possibly less if everything falls in line.

The town estimates the widening of Stephens Way will cost $10 million, the roundabout will cost $2.5 million and the bridge will cost $5 million. 

Hyland said the town is working with the Colorado Department of Transportation to analyze traffic impacts in the area. CDOT has an I-70 Corridor study, which should have additional information by early 2024.

“I-70 and the River Parkway corridor are under CDOT’s control. Stephens Way is something that we can control and so we will coordinate with them on how it interacts with the highway and how we’re maximizing all of the traffic flows that’s going into Highway 6 and 9,” Hyland said. 

Additionally, the town is working with the new owners of the former Arby’s location to include room for additional lanes on Stephens Way as the property is redeveloped. 

When it comes to collaborating with the owners of the property, Hyland said it is “just making sure that, when they’re doing that (redevelopment), they’re pushing that wall back to a point that could accommodate the roadway.”

The town is also working with the Outlets at Silverthorne as the indoor mall of the Red Village is demolished, with a goal to ensure future redevelopment plans accommodate plans for improved traffic flow.

Over the course of the past year, Silverthorne bought the former Burger King property for just over $2.6 million and the old Pizza Hut for a little more than $2.1 million in order to execute this plan. 

Hyland said the town has done some work to fix up the old Pizza Hut for Cafe Food Rescue to operate out of for a while. He anticipates an official building lease for Cafe Food Rescue will be finalized in December or January.