As major transit initiatives move forward across western Colorado, Summit County leaders are hoping to see progress on a number of high-priority road projects currently in the hands of the Colorado Department of Transportation. 

During an April 24 Summit Board of County Commissioners meeting, county and town officials heard from the transportation department’s Region 3 team — which covers 15 counties across the state’s northwest region, including Summit. 

“We gotta work with over 50 municipalities,” said Region 3 Director Jason Smith. “They all are unique with their own issues of expansion and growth. And CDOT’s involved with them, trying to do the best we can to keep everybody safe and moving.” 

CDOT officials said big-picture plans for the region include widespread repair and replacement of hundreds of deteriorating culverts, increased Bustang service to and from Denver and an ongoing overhaul of infrastructure on Vail Pass, the latter of which is experiencing funding issues that has sparked concern from local governments in the area. 

The agency is also preparing to take on longer-term efforts, such as the potential construction of a passenger rail line stretching from Denver to Winter Park to Steamboat and Craig. State leaders said the project, should it garner enough funding from federal dollars, could become reality as soon as 2027 or 2028. 

But amid the large-scale efforts, Summit County officials said they want to ensure momentum continues for other projects in their area that — while local — will likely have ripple effects on travel across the mountain region. 

Commissioner Tamara Pogue asked for an update on the transportation department’s study on U.S. Highway 6 and Colorado Highway 9, which the department began at the beginning of 2023. 

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Both highways serve as major corridors for the towns of Frisco and Silverthorne, connecting motorists with Interstate 70. The study also includes a review of Exit 205 in Silverthorne, which town officials have long called for more attention to. 

Region 3 Engineer Grant Anderson said the study is expected to be wrapped up by the end of May with the results presented at a community open house. He added that over the course of the study, the department has held stakeholder group meetings with the county and towns of Silverthorne and Dillon to gauge traffic trends over the next two decades. 

“The results, in a nutshell, is we’re looking at a 40% traffic increase along the corridor,” between Silverthorne Elementary and Lake Dillon Drive, Anderson said. 

“And so the idea was — what improvements can we make in the existing footprint that could have some benefits in terms of levels of service? And then how does the interchange (205) itself fit into that?” 

The transportation department did recently complete a related project between Frisco and Silverthorne at the end of last year. The more than $20-million initiative, which began in 2022, included the construction of an additional lane along approximately 3.5 miles of eastbound I-70 between Frisco and Silverthorne, structural work to widen two eastbound bridges over the Blue River and U.S. Highway 6 and a longer deceleration lane at Exit 205 in Silverthorne.

The department is now setting its sights on its next project in that area that will focus on reducing backups at Exit 203 in Frisco and is expected to begin construction next year. 

But local officials continue to push for more action at Exit 205, seen as a growing pain point for residents and out-of-town travelers. 

This past Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, the area became the epicenter of what officials called a “traffic nightmare” as hordes of motorists converged at the exit in an attempt to make it onto I-70. Forced into Silverthorne from places like Winter Park and Steamboat Springs due to other road closures at the time, the wave of vehicles heading back to the Front Range practically brought Silverthorne and Dillon to a standstill, with residents reporting being unable to leave their homes and difficulty for public service workers to carry out essential duties, like snow plowing. 

And residents are continuing to voice frustration even after the completion of CDOT’s Frisco-Silverthorne project, telling town officials earlier this year that heavy traffic on eastbound I-70 was becoming more common, especially during the 5 p.m. rush hour. 

CDOT officials say any major work on 205 isn’t currently included in its plans for the next few years, with the Exit 203 project coming first. 

From the commissioners’ standpoint, Pogue said work on Exit 203 and 205 “are our two highest priorities as a community” while adding that, eventually, attention should also be given to Exit 195 at Copper. 

“While I don’t think it’s reached the level of severity as 203 and 205, we’ve certainly had increasing challenges with traffic management at that exit as well,” Pogue said. 

Silverthorne Public Works Director Tom Daugherty said he wants to see a 205 project scheduled within the next decade so that it can be eligible for funding through CDOT’s 10-year-plan projects program. 

He added that it is important for the department to keep up on maintenance and programming of traffic signals, adding, “We had some failures this winter in our traffic signals that have not been prepared — they’re waiting until summer.

“And frankly, that really impacts mobility on the corridors,” Daugherty continued. “And so I would like to stress to CDOT that I think making the effort to do repairs in the winter time to make sure traffic signals are operating how they’re supposed to is important to us as well.”