Report on relocating Highway 287 completed

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

The proposed Glade Reservoir, talked about for years now, will be up for public discussion soon. The environmental impact statement for the Northern Integrated Supply Project, which includes Glade, should be ready in January or February.

In the meantime, a related issue--the possible relocation of U.S. Highway 287--is also under the microscope. If Glade is built, the existing highway between the junction with Highway 14 (Ted's Place) and Owl Canyon will be underwater. Plans call for moving the highway to the east if Glade is approved.

Public hearings on NISP and the highway relocation will be scheduled once the EIS is ready.

The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, which is coordinating the Glade project, recently completed an engineering study for the two highway relocation options. Both would use the old Holcim haul road north of LaPorte. One, called the western route, would cut west through the hogback to rejoin the present alignment. The second, or northern route, would continue north and tie in with Owl Canyon Road (County Road 72) before returning to the current alignment.

The study, conducted by Muller Engineering Co. of Lakewood, does not recommend one route over the other. The final route decision will be made jointly by Larimer County and the Colorado Department of Transportation, if it becomes necessary.

Costs are estimated at $41.3 million for the western route and $37.7 million for the northern route. The difference is "inconsequential" in terms of the entire NISP plan, according to project manager Carl Brouwer of NCWCD. Since the northern route is longer, however, it would incur more maintenance costs over the long term. The northern route would be 11.8 miles long, compared with 8.1 miles for the western route.

According to the engineering report, the northern route would have impacts on wetlands and also more direct impacts on property owners. Right of way acquisition is estimated to cost $4 million on the northern route, compared with $1.5 million on the western route.

Brouwer noted that current plans call for a few changes over what was previously proposed. For instance, the northern route would no longer overlap County Road 21, and there would be no tie-in with County Road 70 to the east. As a result, CR 70 would not be extended to Highway 287, and it would likely not become a major thoroughfare as some neighbors had feared.

A major expense of the western route would be cutting through the hogback. This option also has geologic concerns related to stability of the cut embankments. According to the report, the cut would be about 2,000 feet long and up to 200 feet deep, with a maximum width of 880 feet. The issue of falling rock would be addressed with a rockfall screen, rock reinforcement and catchment ditches on either side of the road. The material excavated from the hogback would be used as road fill and possibly as riprap at Glade Reservoir.

With the western route, there is also concern about winter weather. The engineering report notes that road icing could occur because of shading and differential melting. Also, the hogback cut would accelerate wind speeds. The maximum vertical grade through the cut would be 4 percent, necessitating a climbing lane.

Nicole Seltzer of the NCWCD said that either highway route is fine with the district. "We're really open to public comment" on the alternatives, she said.

If Highway 287 is relocated, it will reduce traffic between the take-off point for the new road (by the old cement plant) and Ted's Place, since most of the current traffic would use the new roadway. A new intersection would be built at Ted's Place to provide a smooth transition to the two-lane Poudre Canyon Highway. At the north end, access would be provided to homes and businesses south of Owl Canyon, but it would vary depending on the alternative chosen.

The public process for input on the two highway relocation options is complicated, since it is tied to the larger NISP endeavor. According to senior planner Rob Helmick, Larimer County plans to treat the two projects as one application. The county will have three tasks once the EIS is ready: consideration of location and extent requests for both Glade Reservoir and the highway relocation and forwarding comments on the entire NISP plan to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Helmick said county commissioners will schedule a public meeting before drafting their comments on NISP. However, he emphasized, the public is encouraged to provide comments directly to the Army Corps at its public hearings.

At the Army Corps hearings, both NISP as a whole and the highway realignment will be up for discussion. The county planning staff is hoping to have a 90-day comment period on NISP, rather than the minimum 45-day period.

To access the full engineering report about the highway relocation, go to www.ncwcd.org/project_features/nisp_doc.asp.