Construction should begin on County Road 517 in June. This is the main road that divides Tribal Court, SUPD and the Casino from the Tribal main campus. The project will add a center turn lane, sidewalks and bike lanes on both side of the street from 172 and CR 517 intersection to the Police Department. There will also be islands for the pedestrians at the intersection and marked crossing areas to safely cross the street throughout the project.

After the Police Department, there will be bike lanes on both sides and a sidewalk along the housing developments. This project will provide for safer travel for pedestrians, bicyclists, and cars. Many people have mentioned that there is someone walking on this road at nighttime making it very difficult to see them. Overall this project should increase the safety of County Road 517.

The project may last 150 days and construction will not occur during Bear Dance weekend and Sun Dance. Construction may run into November or December. To help with making the construction go quicker, the Tribe requests that people try to avoid County Road 517 and identify other areas to park. By having less people drive on CR 517, the construction crew should be able to work faster and not have to slow down allowing cars to drive through on CR 517. This should decrease the number of days it will take for the project.

Although the staging area for the equipment and construction materials will be at the entrance to Scott’s Pond, the contractor will ensure that there is still access to this great fishing site. With everyone’s cooperation we hope this project is completed quicker than the 150 days. The project is funded with grants from the La Plata County, Colorado Department of Transportation, a Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) and BIA.