TELLER COUNTY — The intersection where Highway 24 West meets the Highway 67 turnoff toward Cripple Creek in the small mountain town of Divide has prompted a CDOT planners to see public input.
They want to get ahead of growing traffic and safety issues.
Highway 24 is a major route for people who live in Teller County and for anyone heading to the high country, while Highway 67 carries busy traffic in and out of Cripple Creek. It all comes together in Divide.
The couple hundred people who live and work in Divide are far outnumbered by the vehicles passing through on Highways 24 and 67.
"It's an RV show, boat show, motorcycle show. Everybody's heading somewhere and it gets congested," Divide resident Diana Roush said.
At the intersection of 24 and 67, safety issues from the heavy traffic are evident.
"There's a lot of accidents up here too," Roush said.
State transportation planners are now gathering data on the intersection and the connecting roads.
"Sharpen our pencils on a solution that kind of meets communities' expectations," CDOT traffic program engineer Jason Nelson said.
A visible problem
It doesn't take long watching the westbound lanes to see one of the issues. Drivers less familiar with the area suddenly move to the center lane when they realize two lanes shrink to one at the intersection. Behind a set of cones, it appears a driver sheared off a sign where the lanes go from two to one.
"When it gets congested, yeah, people are stuck," Roush said.
CDOT engineers want to hear from locals about current issues and ideas for solutions at the intersection. They also want something that considers future needs, because traffic on this road continues to grow.
"It's gonna be a challenge to get a really good solution, but you know, CDOT's really good at this," Nelson said. "Just futureproof that intersection for some time."
Residents say they are ready for a change.
"For safety's sake I'd like to see something," Roush said.
Public input shared through the CDOT website will be added to safety and congestion data. Engineers will then develop options for a better traffic configuration in the area.
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