The Colorado Department of Transportation and contract partner Four Corners Materials are pleased to announce the completion of the US Highway 160 rest area truck parking enhancements project. The project began in April at two locations on US 160, the Sleeping Ute Rest Area in Montezuma County and the Shaw Creek Rest Area in Rio Grande County. 

As part of CDOT’s Whole System — Whole Safety initiative, this project focused on safety enhancements to the Sleeping Ute Rest Area, east of Cortez, and Shaw Creek Rest Area, east of South Fork, to provide clearly defined locations for commercial truck and oversized recreational parking. When Wolf Creek Pass is impassable or closed due to inclement weather, vehicle crashes, rockfalls, avalanches or other emergencies that arise, the expansion at Shaw Creek Rest Area will provide safe parking off the highway for oversized trucks or large recreational vehicles. The additional big rig and recreational parking spaces at the Sleeping Ute Rest Area also provide clearly defined parking spaces, allowing for all vehicles, commercial trucks and passenger cars, to safely flow through the rest area preventing potential encounters or crashes.         

Additional work for this project included: erosion control, widening of the existing truck parking areas, asphalt patching, chip seal, striping, and lighting upgrades that consist of new poles and luminaries with improved technology and lower energy use.