Commissioners adopt plan for Owl Canyon

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

After years of discussion, Larimer County officials have designated a northern east-west route between Interstate 25 and U.S. Highway 287 that will be upgraded as funds become available.

In today's dollars, recommended improvements would cost nearly $16 million.

The approved route calls for using County Road 70 for most of the corridor from I-25 west. A new extension of north-south CR 19 (North Taft Hill Road) would be built to carry traffic from CR 70 to CR 72.

Once the CR 19 extension is built, the county would likely stop maintaining the segments of CR 70 and 21 that go through the Weaver Ranch.

County commissioners held a final hearing on the Owl Canyon corridor on Nov. 17. The two commissioners present, Kathay Rennels and Glenn Gibson, then agreed to adopt the recommendations of the county engineering department.

"The route itself I think is appropriate," Rennels said.

In October, the county planning commission recommended adoption of the same plan on a 6-0 vote. The long-term plan is to pave the entire corridor, which is now part pavement, part chip seal and part gravel.

Northern residents turned out for both public hearings, but their numbers were significantly smaller than the groups that attended three open houses in Wellington this year.

Waverly area residents gave the county commissioners a petition with 75 signatures from people who think CR 72 instead of CR 70 should be the primary road used for the Owl Canyon corridor. Problems cited for CR 70 included an old and narrow bridge, unsafe sight distances and the fact that CR 72 is already carrying truck traffic to and from Grant Family Farms.

No matter which roads are improved, the area residents noted that better roads will increase truck traffic. "I think it's going to multiply 10 times," said real estate agent Lou Kinzli. "They will use it as the bypass."

Some residents also opposed the idea of building roundabouts at some of the intersections, although the county engineers contend roundabouts are safe and an effective way to reduce speed.

"We deliberately looked at things that would not create a high-speed highway," said Public Works Director Marc Engemoen.

The county has no rural-sized roundabouts at this time for drivers to experience, he added. The roundabout at Taft Hill Road and Vine Drive is an urban design.

After the hearing, Engemoen said that next year the county will look at making spot safety improvements in the corridor. During the next five years, the county will work on designing the CR 19 extension as a gravel roadway, he said.

"As funds become available, we will look at what phases could drop into the capital improvements program," Engemoen added.

He said the Owl Canyon corridor will never need to be more than a two-lane roadway, even when applying the most extreme growth projections.

More information about plans for the corridor is available at www.larimer.org/engineering. Documents include an analysis of alternatives considered.