CDOT decision brings relief to many along 287

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

The widening of U.S. Highway 287 north of Fort Collins may not happen for years, but residents and business owners now have a pretty good idea of what the new road will look like--and who has to move.

The two-mile stretch of road runs from State Highway 1 to the beginning of the LaPorte bypass. Some, like Jax Farm & Ranch and Ron's Equipment Co., are breathing a sigh of relief and plan to stay put. Others will lose land and see their days as numbered. However, changes announced in December will reduce the number of relocations by about half.

The Colorado Department of Transportation revealed its preferred alternative to the Larimer County Commissioners on Dec. 15. It's the same A-4 route recommended a year ago, with the new road following the present alignment but widened to four lanes. Last year, there was so much uproar over the plan that the department went back to the drawing board to look at other possibilities.

CDOT came back with one major change: making the right-of-way 125 feet wide instead of 175 feet. With the new plan, utilities would be located beneath the sidewalks alongside the highway.

If the preferred route stands, business relocations would include Kathy's Furniture, Suburban Propane and North 287 Self-Storage. In addition, 16 residences would likely have to relocate, including seven mobile homes, three single-family homes and an apartment building with six units. The original A-4 route, with its wider right-of-way, would have displaced an estimated 27 residences and eight businesses.

County Commissioner Glenn Gibson expressed concern about trailer park residents who would be displaced by the new road. "We've eliminated so many of our mobile home parks," he said. "Where can they move their homes?" According to Michelle Li of J.F. Sato and Associates, a consultant working with CDOT, the Fort Collins Housing Authority and Neighbor to Neighbor have pledged to help displaced residents find new housing. No homes in the Poudre Valley Mobile Home Park would be affected by the new road.

The proposed 287 route still has to jump through more bureaucratic hoops. The route must be approved by the Federal Highway Administration, and that decision may not come until February or March.

If the plan is approved by the FHWA, the state will proceed with the design phase of the project, which could take one to one and one-half years. At the same time, if funds become available, the agency will begin right-of-way acquisition. "Construction isn't on the horizon at all" because of tight federal funds, said Karla Harding, regional transportation director for CDOT. Total cost of the project is estimated at $20 million.

Public meeting planned

In February or March, CDOT will hold a public informational meeting about its preferred route for 287. At that time, the agency will have more detailed information about the project schedule. Meanwhile, the CDOT decision has removed some uncertainty for businesses in the area.

Jim Quinlan, owner of Jax Farm & Ranch, said his expansion plans have been on hold for about two years. Now he hopes to go ahead with a 14,000-square-foot addition, and construction could start sometime in 2006.

The narrower right-of-way is "considerably better than before, something we can live with," Quinlan said. The equipment display area along the highway would be lost, but the parking lot would likely not be affected.

Ron Lonneman, owner of Ron's Equipment Co., said the new plan is "tons better" than the previous proposal. "It's business as usual for Ron's, and we have no intention of moving," he said.

At the urging of Commissioner Kathay Rennels, CDOT staff contacted affected businesses following the Dec. 15 meeting. "Communication up until now has been poor," said Lonneman, "but it has improved tremendously in the last week." Affected homeowners, however, will not be contacted until the public meeting is held.

Kathy Eichman, owner of Kathy's Furniture, said she will continue operating until the highway widening actually occurs, but at that point she'll be out of business.

"I can't see running it somewhere else," she said, since her backup staff lives close to her current location. "I feel they're taking away my way of making a living."

Members of her family also own the mobile home park next to her business, and that stands to lose spaces for both mobile homes and permanent campers.

Alternative B scrapped

During the past year of additional study, CDOT took a harder look at a second route, Alternative B, which would have paralleled the current highway. It would have diverged from the present highway near North 287 Self-Storage, going through a historic farm and a wholesale nursery business before joining up with the LaPorte bypass.

CDOT officials noted that Alternative B would have required two new stoplights, hampering traffic flow, and it would have removed about half the traffic from the current roadway, thus failing to alleviate safety concerns there.