Carbondale, CDOT review Highway 133 safety, funding and access-control options

Carbondale trustees and Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Region 3 staff met at a special work session to review planning and funding options for improvements on State Highway 133, focusing on pedestrian and bicycle crossings, traffic volumes and permitting pathways.

The meeting matters because traffic on the corridor is tracking toward levels forecast in the town’s access control plan, trustees said, raising questions about how to pay for crosswalks, safer intersections and longer-term changes while navigating CDOT permitting and limited state and federal funds.

CDOT Region 3 staff outlined three main ways a community can build work on a state highway: (1) a local agency project funded through state or federal grants and administered through CDOT’s local agency group; (2) a highway access permit for intersection work funded by the town or private developers; and (3) a special use permit for work along a length of highway that is not at an intersection. CDOT staff said most communities pursue access or special use permits unless they secure substantial grant funding.

CDOT staff recommended several grant avenues that have been used in the region. The state Revitalizing Main Streets program was cited as an example: Delta used a temporary demonstration to win about $13,000,000 to make a pilot configuration permanent. Federal funds sometimes flow directly to local agencies without going through CDOT, a pathway that helped Gunnison County secure roughly $20,000,000 for roundabouts and other traffic-calming work, staff said. The Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) was highlighted as a common target for pedestrian- and bicycle-related projects; CDOT staff noted HSIP typically requires a benefit-cost showing tied to crash history though CDOT has relaxed some rules for vulnerable road users and corridor-style problems.

CDOT staff told trustees the region’s Transportation Planning Region (Intermountain TPR) process is the primary way to seek CDOT-administered funding; representatives from towns and counties make the case for projects to compete against other jurisdictions in the TPR. Carbondale has projects on the TPR list but, CDOT staff said, it is low on the priority list because competing needs in larger or more heavily used corridors often take precedence.

Traffic counts discussed at the meeting show Highway 133 volumes are roughly tracking previous forecasts. CDOT staff reported that north of Colorado Avenue the 2012 count was about 14,000 vehicles per day, the 2032 forecast was about 22,000, and the most recent count was about 18,000. South of Snowmass the 2012 count was about 3,300 with a 2032 forecast near 5,100 and a recent count near 3,600. Trustees and staff said those figures align closely with the 2013 Highway 133 access control plan’s long-range trajectory.

The access control plan — a document signed by CDOT and the town that designates where accesses will be located along the corridor — was described as a legally binding, long-range guide for access spacing and future redevelopment. CDOT staff emphasized the plan is intended to be implemented over decades: the plan sets preferred access locations so that when parcels redevelop property owners and the town can align access points rather than having the first developer unilaterally create staggered access that increases turning conflicts.

On intersection treatments, CDOT staff said roundabouts are generally preferred when they fit a location, because they can be installed without meeting signal warrants and often improve safety and traffic flow. CDOT staff said warrantless roundabouts are an option in many places, but some locations with heavy unbalanced flows (large, dominant turning movements) are poor candidates. Traffic signals require meeting standards listed in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD); staff described nine signal warrants (volume and pedestrian/crash-based tests) and said the four- and eight-hour volume warrants commonly drive signal decisions. CDOT staff cautioned that signals trade different performance outcomes and should be considered only after evaluating other options.

Staff also described typical timelines and sample funding scales discussed in the region: HSIP projects commonly take about three years from selection to construction; CDOT has a small “hotspot” fund roughly $500,000 a year that is sometimes accumulated over multiple years for modest local projects; and large reconstruction or redesigns can cost millions (CDOT cited a $6,000,000 roundabout reconstruction in the Eagle area as an example).

Trustees said safety and pedestrian crossings around Dolores Way and other intersections are priorities for many residents. CDOT staff said the corridor had not yet risen to a level that would automatically trigger CDOT-led investment, but that CDOT will partner with the town on projects that demonstrate safety benefits and feasibility. Trustees and staff agreed the work session is an early step; participants planned to review maps and return to the room for additional discussion, and the town will address funding priorities during an April finance session.

Meeting participants included Carbondale trustees who requested the session, town staff and CDOT Region 3 staff; the parties said multiple rounds of public engagement will follow before any construction is scheduled.