The town of Bayfield, La Plata County and the Colorado Department of Transportation are nearing completion of the Highway 160 Access Control Plan.
The three entities hosted a public open house Thursday evening at Bayfield Town Hall for residents to examine the access plan maps and other information about the project. Twenty to 30 community members attended.
The plan covers 3.52 miles from the west end of Gem Village to just beyond the east edge of Bayfield.
The maps show future roads, including a planned Highway 160 south bypass of Gem Village. However, CDOT representatives said the access plan does not contain any funding commitments to build any of the new roads or stoplight intersections.
The maps also show which existing highway accesses will remain as-is, which will be restricted to three-quarter movement or “right-in, right-out” and which ones CDOT wants to close.
Town Manager Chris La May said, “From the town’s perspective, (the access plan) is something we invited because when we took over Bayfield Parkway (formerly Highway 160B), it gave us an access point (at the west end) that we wanted to protect. It’s a framework for more land-use planning because we know where the accesses will be.”
Participants at the open house were invited to submit comments. They will be considered for the final version of the access plan, which might be up for approval through an inter-governmental agreement in January or February by the town, county and CDOT.
