More than $12 million in grant money could be directed toward funding the Bridge to Nowhere interchange in Durango.
On Thursday, Colorado’s U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet, a Democrat, and Cory Gardner, a Republican, announced the Department of Transportation awarded $12,312,887 as part of the 2015 bipartisan highway bill, known as the FAST Act.
The grant is now subject to a 60-day congressional review period, the announcement said.
“This grant is a result of our negotiations and is great news for Southwest Colorado,” Gardner said in a prepared statement. “It’s also recognition of the need for ensuring our rural communities receive necessary resources.”
If approved, the grant money would help fund a 1.7-mile alignment of U.S. Highway 550 at the Grandview interchange, locally known as the Bridge to Nowhere, after years of the project being stalled.
According to the announcement, the new alignment would be completed with flatter grades, wider shoulders, a southbound truck-climbing lane and an automated anti-icing system.
Lisa Schwantes, spokeswoman for Colorado Department of Transportation, said a more concrete plan would be laid out if and when the grant funding is approved and secured.
“This is great news,” she said. “We’ll keep our fingers crossed.”
Schwantes said if the $12 million grant is approved, CDOT estimates it would take an additional $78 million to complete the interchange east of Durango, which aims to create a safer route between U.S. highways 550 and 160.
To date, the interchange has cost $46.5 million. And while the “Bridge to Nowhere” moniker lives on, drivers traveling back and forth between Durango and Mercy Regional Medical Center and Three Springs have used the new road.
Once complete, the interchange would move the highway 550/160 connection from Farmington Hill, a steep incline, to the north side of the highway where development is expected.
“The US-550 corridor is a critical transportation link for the San Juan Basin,” Bennet said in a prepared statement. “This grant will help to provide long-awaited improvements to the region’s roads and support its energy, agriculture and tourism economy.”
jromeo@durangoherald.com
