Question for Action Line:
How much longer is the never-ending construction on East 32nd Street going to take? It seems like the project has been ongoing for three years now! The closure of the link between north Durango and Florida Road is used by many, and the construction closure continues to snarl traffic, especially during the morning and evening commute. Further, during this current closure, the detour down Holly to Florida Road is without the traffic-management devices that were present last summer. Will the city be reinstalling the three-way stop that was present last year, or will the traffic coming off Holly just have to deal with the wild west this time?
And another:
Dear Action Line, There’s a huge mound of dirt halfway up 32nd Street in a low spot on the south side. Workers have massaged for about month. What’s up? Also, at the corner with County Road 250, lots of work going on at the former pawn shop location. Any news?
Curious Neighbors
Dear Curious Neighbors.
Here’s what Tom Sluis, spokesperson for city, said (I don’t always credit him, but he’s who usually gives me these answers.):
“The 32nd Street (County Road 251) rebuild is done. This latest work is part of extending city sewer and water connections to a private development on 32nd Street and is a separate project. There are no plans to re-install a three-way stop sign at Holly and Florida Road. As for the mound of dirt on 32nd Street, that is part of a project to capture stormwater runoff and improve the quality of the water that ultimately reaches the Animas River. The work at County Road 250 is groundwork related to a new power pole that is being installed by La Plata Electric Association, so there are some minor traffic delays while they complete that work. A good way for the public to stay up to day on the various road construction projects in the city is to sign up for our free weekly newsletter called ‘Orange Cone Report,’ through our ‘Notifyme’ portal on the website, durangoco.gov.”
So 32nd Street should be passable by the time this goes to print. I hope it is. I checked out the stormwater project on the south side of 32nd and it’s pretty cool – you can see the collected stormwater gets directed under 32nd to … where? I followed up and Laura Rieck, assistant Public Works director, utilities, told me: “The stormwater from upper 32nd Street, Florida Road and North College will flow into the new extended detention basin, which serves as a passive water quality feature, cleaning the water before it enters the Animas. There’s piping that takes the water from the basin over toward Oxbow Park, where it discharges into the river.” This will keep our Animas River flowing cleaner through town, which is great news.
As for the big mounds of dirt at the intersection of 32nd and Holly, pictured, the way vegetation is growing on them, I’m wondering if they will someday be like the Cahokia Mounds in Illinois, with future anthropologists wondering what that was all about.
Email questions and suggestions to [email protected] or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. Today’s Fun Fact: The Cahokia Mounds is the site of a Native American city, from the years 1050 to 1350, directly across the Mississippi River from present-day St. Louis. Cahokia was the largest and most influential urban settlement of the Mississippian culture, and the Mounds are considered to be the largest and most complex archaeological site north of the great pre-Columbian cities in Mexico, both larger in size and population than Chaco Canyon.