Colorado Department of Transportation officials answered Down Valley residents’ questions on Oct. 22 about Front Street ownership, access consolidation off Highway 145, the Placerville multimodal project, speed monitoring and rockfall mitigation on Norwood Hill.

CDOT traffic engineer Tony Cady and regional staff member Tim Funk attended the San Miguel County Board of County Commissioners work session in Placerville to review items CDOT and the county have discussed previously and to take public questions.

CDOT said it is willing to relinquish ownership of portions of the CDOT frontage road in Placerville so the county can consolidate private access points. “We are willing to do that,” Tony Cady said, adding that the county would need to document the right of way and that the parties would define an area CDOT would retain for roadside maintenance. CDOT said consolidation would allow the county or town to reduce multiple private drive accesses to one or two safer locations.

Why this matters: residents pressed CDOT repeatedly on safety and traffic flow. Multiple access points onto Highway 145 in the Placerville corridor were described by residents as a persistent safety concern; CDOT said an access-control plan — an engineered study — can identify consolidation options but that physical consolidation can be complex in constrained areas.

Multimodal Placerville project and schedule
CDOT said strategic funds in its 10-year plan (funded in part through Senate Bill 260 strategic dollars) have secured design work for a multimodal project serving Placerville, Sawpit and Norwood. CDOT reported survey work has started and that the schedule anticipates design in 2026 and construction in 2027. Planned elements include curb and gutter, sidewalks, ADA crossings and features to improve transit access; dedicated bike lanes were not promised.

Community engagement: CDOT said it will share preliminary design boards with the county and the community before finalizing plans. Tony Cady: “We’ll set up a meeting, with the community, have some boards out that people can take a look at proposed designs and maybe provide some comments at that point.” County staff said earlier staff-level discussions occurred in June with local officials and some Sawpit representatives but broader public meetings in Placerville have not yet been held.

Speed monitoring, the 80th‑percentile rule and enforcement
Residents asked whether CDOT would perform a speed study on Highway 145 near Placerville. CDOT said it will conduct a formal speed study on request but warned that Colorado’s posted-speed methodology uses the 80th percentile of traffic speeds as the primary measure: if the 80th percentile is above the current limit, the posted limit can rise; if below, it can be lowered. “There is a concern that it could go up,” Tony Cady said.

Several residents urged an informal approach first. CDOT staff said traffic engineers now have some flexibility to consider ancillary factors in addition to the speed tubes, and that an informal speed study could be used to preview likely outcomes before a formal change is filed. CDOT also said increased enforcement from the sheriff or Colorado State Patrol can temporarily reduce speeds but that enforcement is not factored into formal study results unless coincidentally present during data collection.

Bus stop consolidation and Front Street beautification
CDOT and county staff said the Placerville bus stops on Front Street likely will be consolidated as part of the larger Front Street improvements. County parks staff and CDOT agreed to coordinate bus stop design with sidewalk/curb improvements and any landscaping or beautification measures the county proposes.

Rockfall mitigation: Norwood Hill and Keystone Hill
CDOT’s geohazard program has identified both Norwood Hill and Keystone Hill for rockfall work. CDOT selected Norwood Hill for first work in Southwest Colorado because Keystone Hill will require additional right‑of‑way and environmental steps. Design has started for Norwood Hill; CDOT plans rock scaling and drape mesh at four locations with construction targeted in calendar year 2027 (funding listed in CDOT’s FY27–28 program). CDOT warned paleo monitoring may be required during excavation. CDOT said Keystone Hill remains on the program of work but is likely a year or more later due to slope and permitting complexity.

Other notes from the session
- CDOT confirmed it is under a state hiring freeze that affects staffing but said existing project queues are continuing; some federal grant pages and NOFOs have been paused. CDOT noted some state grant programs (for example, the revitalizing main streets program and a Telluride planning grant) were postponed or rescinded because of funding shortfalls.
- CDOT said it is open to exploring access control plans to consolidate driveways, but such plans can require frontage roads or other expensive treatments in constrained terrain; traffic and safety staff will look for alternative solutions.
- CDOT described its work with Colorado Parks and Wildlife on wildlife‑vehicle collision mitigation and said the West Slope Wildlife prioritization study is available; the agency said mitigation locations are prioritized and not all corridors will qualify for underpasses or crossing structures.

What’s next
CDOT staff asked the county to coordinate community engagement timing; county staff agreed to share design boards when they are available. CDOT also said it will follow up with written answers on how accident counts and other ancillary factors are included in speed‑study methodologies and will coordinate with county staff on access mapping and potential quitclaim or transfer mechanisms for Front Street right of way.