Chaffee County to file formal comment asking Surface Transportation Board to consider Tennessee Pass rails‑to‑trails

Chaffee County commissioners voted to submit a formal comment to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) asking the agency to consider a Tennessee Pass rail‑to‑trail conversion as part of its public‑interest review of a proposed Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern merger.

Miles, county planning staff, told the board the comment asks the STB to “elevate review of this potential project as part of their public interest review,” framing the rails‑to‑trails option as a regional recreation and conservation opportunity that local governments want the STB to examine during the merger process. Commissioners approved a motion to file the comment and to send copies to state and federal representatives, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, CDOT and the governor’s office.

The proposal references earlier feasibility work on the Tennessee Pass corridor and frames a trail as one possible public‑use outcome if rights‑of‑way were made available. Miles said the public comment period for the merger review runs through Sept. 25 and that the county’s letter would join a loose coalition of local governments seeking review. The board voted unanimously to submit the comment.