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The O. Zone: Not just a great Yes song, Roundabout redo is kinda doo-doo
The endless Post Boulevard and Highway 6 roundabout redo project (CDOT photo).
Eagle County is deeply divided.
But don’t stop reading, because this is not another post-election political take. Besides, we’re not really allowed to write about politics anymore owing to our thin-skinned incoming president (did he really win?) looking to sue anyone who questions his unquestioned greatness.
No, this is a column about another topic that dominated a recent Christmas cocktail party I attended here in the EagleVail hood: seemingly endless road work. Whether it’s Vail Pass (project paused for the winter), the Post Boulevard, Highway 6 (WalMart) roundabout redo, or the mysterious Dowd Junction lane closures on Interstate 70, road work is rocking our world.
Turns out if politics are too depressing or contentious to discuss over drinks, even among likeminded liberals, talk quickly turns to either the weather (boring and snow-free of late) or transportation. That was the case last Saturday night, where I was peppered with questions I had no answers for. Sure, I’m Mr. Train, but what the hell do I know about roads, other than they seem to be effed forever?
I like to roll out this stat at parties (at which point people politely slide away toward another drink or more interesting talk): The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has only been able to increase lane miles (basically road capacity) 2.6% between 1990 and 2023. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Colorado’s population during that time increased from 3.3 million in 1990 to an estimated 2023 population of 5.9 million, or nearly 79%.
Bottom line, despite pumping hundreds of millions into road projects, CDOT can’t possibly keep up. There are simply too many of us driving too erratically on geographically constrained mountain roads to keep the system functioning the way it used to when we moved here back in the day. But when I trotted that package of stats out at our latest holiday soiree, there wasn’t a mass exodus. People are pissed about too much traffic and endless road construction.
So I set out on Monday to get some answers. First, what the hell was wrong with the OG Post Boulevard/WalMart roundabout and why is it taking so long to redo the damn thing?
A quite accommodating CDOT spokesperson directed me to this very informative press release, which I posted on RealVail.com, explaining the project will soon be on hold for the winter (returning in all its glory in the spring) and was necessary because the old design was unsafe, leading to an abnormal number of crashes (I never had a problem), and because there was a lot of other infrastructure work that also needed to be done there. That’s what differentiates it in length of construction time from recent new roundabouts in west Edwards and Arrowhead.
I asked the friendly CDOT spokesperson to address the persistent rumor that state crews had been pulled off the Post Boulevard project to quickly finish the Arrowhead roundabout for the residents of that well-heeled gated community. They quickly shot down that speculation by pointing out Arrowhead was a private project that relied on zero state resources.
Then I asked just what the hell has been going on the last couple of weeks in Dowd Junction, which confused the spokesperson because they know it as the sexily named “I-70 Variable Speed Limit Signs in Dowd Canyon”, not “Dowd Junction”, project.
Locals, I explained, know it as Dowd Junction because that’s where Gore Creek meets the Eagle River, where I-70 meets Highway 6 & 24, where the rubber meets the road, and where all sorts of mechanical mayhem meets slick-as-hell, very curvy and often deeply shaded asphalt in what is – the CDOT spokesperson was right – technically a canyon. I have no idea who Dowd was.
It’s also up against a slowly sliding alluvial hillside that could someday give way and completely dam up the Eagle River into Minturn (but that’s a disaster story for another day). The disaster story of this day is the delays we’ve all incurred trying to get from our economic engine of Vail to down-valley locations where people can actually still (sort of) afford to live and play.
Back to the CDOT spokesperson, who kindly provided me with this unvarying comment on the variable speed limit sign project that “will go into an official winter shutdown this Friday, on Dec. 20. You can see on the project website, but that project installed 18 variable speed limit (VSL) signs that were installed along I-70 from Mile Point 169 to 173. The VSL signs will modify the speed along this stretch of I-70 based on traffic speed and volume, weather conditions, road conditions, and traffic incidents. Additionally, a roadway weather information system was installed to provide real-time weather updates for drivers, especially where adverse weather conditions can significantly affect road safety. Also, guardrails were also replaced to prevent vehicles from leaving the roadway and reduce the risk of more serious crashes.”
While we are deeply divided by a canyon, not a junction, with no alternative to I-70, we are all united in our desire for better, safer roads, and I, as Mr. Train, would also like to put in yet another plug for one more transportation alternative: A fully functional local passenger rail line linked to a statewide system of passenger trains that I can ride with drink in hand, endlessly droning on about transportation infrastructure to whoever will listen.
Editor’s note: The O. Zone is a recurring opinion column by RealVail.com publisher David O. Williams. Please read how you can help support this site by considering a donation or signing up for news alerts … or both.
David O. Williams
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