Glade project looks at moving U.S. 287

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

Moving U.S. Highway 287 east, onto land owned by the Holcim cement plant, is the favored choice of a group of water users wanting to build a new reservoir north of LaPorte.

Plans for Glade Reservoir, which 13 water users hope to build north of Ted's Place, are moving forward. In June, the Army Corps of Engineers hired a consultant to work on the Environmental Impact Statement for Glade and Galeton, the two new reservoirs proposed by the Northern Integrated Supply Project. The Corps is the permitting agency for the project.

One of the top priorities on the EIS agenda will be looking at possible new routes for Highway 287 around Glade, since the existing route would lie at the bottom of the reservoir. While options are still open on both the west and east sides of the reservoir, the east-side route through the cement plant property is currently the favorite.

Open houses are planned for mid-August in Fort Collins, Eaton and southwest Weld County to discuss progress on the NISP plan, including the road alignment issue.

Nicole Seltzer of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, which is managing the project for the partners, said the eastern route for 287 is "most attractive right now" because the property is disturbed already. Most of the route would go through Holcim Inc. property, and it would also cross property owned by Adrian Weaver and Jim Striggow. If a west-side route were used, it would impact ranch land.

The east-side alignment would follow the 287 bypass to Overland Trail, then go north through the cement plant. It would rejoin the current highway about 1 mile south of the entrance to Bonner Peak Ranch.

Moving Highway 287 would eliminate much of the traffic that now goes by Ted's Place, an intersection where several accidents have occurred. The new 287 route would also be 1 to 2 miles shorter than the current route.

Seltzer emphasized that much can change regarding the rerouting of Highway 287. The EIS process dictates that all alternatives be studied again, both with regard to the reservoirs themselves and any road changes. A group of transportation engineers will look at the eastern route within the next few months, Seltzer said, to see if it is feasible.

Moving a federal highway is not easy and requires approval by the Colorado Department of Transportation. Carl Brouwer, project manager for NISP, said CDOT will be involved in drafting the EIS, so that all federal highway rules are followed. Once a route is chosen, the NISP partners would purchase the necessary property and transfer a right-of-way to CDOT. However, CDOT is not yet commenting on the project. Dave Martinez, a CDOT engineer, said the agency has not seen enough details to take a stance on a possible rerouting of the highway.

The managers at Holcim would like to know soon if their property will be used for a new section of highway. Gordon Benton is in charge of demolition and reclamation at the cement plant, which closed almost two years ago. He said it would be beneficial to know as soon as possible about the Highway 287 plans because the company has only five years to complete reclamation work.

"Until we get a formal proposal, we can't figure (the highway) into the reclamation process," he said. This fall the company plans to move forward with reclamation, and he said he would prefer not to have to move dirt twice. Holcim owns 3,800 acres at its LaPorte site.

Brouwer said the district hopes to have a draft EIS in hand by late 2005 and approval for NISP by the end of 2006. The 13 partners include the Northern Colorado Water Association, the East Larimer County Water District, the Fort Collins-Loveland Water District and several Weld County water users.

Glade Reservoir, as proposed, would have a capacity of 177,000 acre-feet, compared to Horsetooth Reservoir at 156,000 acre-feet. It would be 260 feet deep and 5 miles long, with the south end about 1 mile north of Ted's Place. Plans call for a forebay just south of the reservoir, with water pumped from the forebay into Glade.