Pipeline opponents get new tool to save old railroad line

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

In February, a statewide historic preservation group listed a historic section of railroad in LaPorte as one of "Colorado's Most Endangered Places." Opponents of Greeley's proposed route for a 60-inch water pipeline hope the designation will help convince city officials to move their pipeline elsewhere.

As it stands now, Greeley plans to build the pipeline along the route of the old Greeley, Salt Lake and Pacific Railroad line, a move that would likely destroy the historic resource. Some of the original tracks remain on the corridor, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Mary Humstone of LaPorte, a historic preservationist and University of Wyoming professor, applied to have the railroad line designated as "most endangered." The corridor was one of four places chosen for the 2009 list from 39 nominated sites.

"I'm thrilled to get the designation," said Humstone. "It shows that this is not just of concern to a small group of people in LaPorte and Bellvue. It broadens our case. This statewide organization is saying it's really important to save these kinds of resources."

Humstone also noted that about 2,000 people, including county commissioners and state legislators, signed a petition urging Greeley to relocate the pipeline.

"We're going to keep pushing them to look at other routes," Humstone said. The historic railroad line crosses property owned by her and her husband as well as other LaPorte residents.

The "most endangered list" is compiled by Colorado Preservation Inc., with the intent of calling attention to historically significant places in danger of being lost. Since the list was established in 1998, 70 sites have been named to the list.

CPI noted that the Greeley, Salt Lake and Pacific corridor "represents more than 100 years of railroad history." The line through LaPorte, built in 1881 and abandoned in 1988, was used to transport locally quarried sandstone and limestone.

"Uniquely, this is one of the few abandoned rail lines in Colorado that retains its historic alignment, railroad bed, ballast, ties and rails," CPI stated in a news release. The line includes three historic bridges, one of which is a turntable that was originally used in Wyoming.

Greeley will likely need a 404 permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to construct the pipeline section through LaPorte. As part of that process, the Army Corps will be required to consult with the Colorado Historic Preservation Office about the best way to mitigate impacts to the historic railroad corridor. Mitigation options, according to Tim Carey of the Army Corps, could include boring under the railroad bed, replacing it after pipeline construction or merely recording its existence with photographs.

In other pipeline-related news, Dan Moore of Greeley Water said the city has applied for $7.25 million in federal stimulus money to help complete its pipeline project. The project is being built in segments, and if Greeley receives the stimulus funds, they would be used to build a section roughly between College Avenue and Shields Street.

"They're asking for shovel-ready projects," Moore said, and that particular segment is ready to go, with design work and permitting completed. The segment of pipeline going through LaPorte is not yet ready to build, he noted.

The stimulus funding, Moore said, would "save the citizens of Greeley a lot of money," specifically in terms of utility bills and development fees.