1-Color
February 19, 2014
75 cents Teller County, Colorado | Volume 53, Issue 7 A publication of
pikespeakcourier.net
Neighbors invited to mitigation meeting By Pat Hill
phill@coloradocommunitymedia.com As the snow keeps flying it’s still not too early for homeowners in Ute Pass to start planning for the 2014 wildfire season. A kick-off meeting March 1 at the Ute Pass Cultural Center gets the mitigation ball rolling.
“People can learn about things they can do to protect their homes,” said Scott Lord, who led his neighborhood in Forest Edge to attain FireWise Communities designation. The keynote speaker is Linda Masterson who lost her home in a catastrophic fire “She has a great message, has written a book about what people can do in
the event of wildfire, ideas that may save your life,” Lord said. Representatives from the State Forest Service and all the local fire chiefs will be on hand to discuss defensible space and fire mitigation. Smoky the Bear will entertain the kids with rides on a fire truck and games that relate to being fire wise. In addition to Lord, Jonathan Bru-
no, from Coalition for the Upper South Platte, and Bonnie Sumner, who led her Majestic Park neighborhood to achieve FireWise designation, will present mitigation ideas. The Wildfire Kick-off meeting is from 9 a.m. to noon March 1 at the Ute Pass Cultural Center.
Construction crews were gearing up in the Pass in preparation for installing a high-capacity culvert. Photo by Rob Carrigan
Project start rescheduled for after President’s Day Staff report The Colorado Department of Transportation rescheduled the full closure of eastbound U.S. 24 on Ute Pass until after President’s Day weekend. It was originally scheduled to close on Saturday. Eastbound Highway 24 near Waldo Canyon now will be closed on the morning of Feb. 18, with all traffic shifted over to the westbound lanes – one lane in each direction. The high-
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way will remain in this configuration for about two weeks, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When work on the eastbound side is complete, all traffic will be moved to the eastbound lanes for another couple weeks, allowing construction on the westbound lanes. During construction, a 35 mph speed limit will be in effect and vehicles wider than 12 feet will not be allowed to travel through the work zone. The closure will allow an extra-
large concrete box culvert to be installed underneath the highway. Measuring 24 feet wide and 10 feet high, the culvert will be 10 times larger than the 72 inch metal pipe in use. Preparation work continued Feb. 14, with the left lane of eastbound and westbound Highway 24 closed for one mile from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Drivers should expect possible slowdowns or delays through the area during the morning and evening rush hours.
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“We anticipate a busy holiday weekend so we thought it would be best to move the closure until after President’s Day,” said CDOT Resident Engineer Dave Watt. “Delaying the work for a few days allows commuter and recreational traffic to flow smoothly to and from the mountains and we’ll still be able to complete the work in a timely manner.” The $1.4 million project is scheduled for completion by April 30.
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