{"id":48473,"date":"2021-02-19T17:03:27","date_gmt":"2021-02-20T00:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/southern-colorado-scenic-byways-get-national-designation\/"},"modified":"2021-02-20T00:03:27","modified_gmt":"2021-02-20T00:03:27","slug":"southern-colorado-scenic-byways-get-national-designation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/southern-colorado-scenic-byways-get-national-designation\/","title":{"rendered":"Southern Colorado scenic byways get national designation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"A
A steam train leaves Cumbres Pass back to Chama, one end of a Colorado scenic byway called Tracks Across Borders. Two of the state\u2019s byways received national scenic byway designations in January.<\/span>Jim Mimiaga\/The Journal file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Two of Colorado\u2019s scenic byways, both in southern regions of the state, have become part of the National Scenic Byway Program.<\/p>\n

The National Scenic Byway Program includes 184 designated byways in 48 states. The routes highlight America\u2019s history, natural beauty and landmarks \u2013 and provide an economic boost to surrounding areas. With the new designations, Colorado has more national scenic byways than any other state.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese new designations are a tribute to this great state and characterize the breadth of its beautiful landscapes, history and culture,\u201d said Shoshana Lew, Colorado Department of Transportation executive director, in a news release Thursday. \u201cIn addition to providing new and exciting adventures for travelers, our scenic and historic byways help protect these much-valued areas of Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s newest American Byways, announced this week, are the Highway of Legends<\/a>, an 82-mile route through Huerfano and Las Animas counties, and Silver Thread<\/a>, a 117-mile route through Gunnison, Hinsdale, Mineral and Rio Grande counties.<\/p>\n

Designated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, these national byways are recognized for their outstanding scenic and historic attributes. With the new designations, Colorado has 13 American Byways.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s byways are an important asset for economic development, with an economic impact of nearly $4.8 billion over a six-year period, according to the CDOT news release. The Highway of Legends provided nearly $180 million in economic benefit and the Silver Thread more than $67 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a remarkable nod to our state\u2019s timeless beauty and a well-deserved recognition for the efforts of Colorado citizens to share it with everyone,\u201d said Nathan Boyless, chairman of Colorado\u2019s Scenic and Historic Byways Commission, in the release. \u201cThe open road beckons, scenic travels!\u201d<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s scenic byway program, established in 1989, has designated six byways in Southwest Colorado, including the widely traveled San Juan Skyway. The 236-mile route passes through La Plata, Montezuma, Dolores, San Miguel, Ouray and San Juan counties.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look forward to the byways bringing awareness to our beautiful and scenic part of the state,\u201d said Brooke Henderson, operations manager with Visit Durango. \u201cWe also hope that this will encourage visitors and locals alike to protect and preserve this beautiful land and its history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s newest byway, Tracks Across Borders<\/a>, was designated in 2015 and also passes through Durango.<\/p>\n

The state byway then meanders through Ignacio and Arboles before crossing the Colorado-New Mexico border and ending in Chama.<\/p>\n

The 125-mile route (with 89 miles in Colorado) follows the historical San Juan Extension of the 1880s Denver & Rio Grande Narrow Gauge Railroad, Colorado\u2019s first and the nation\u2019s largest narrow-gauge railroad system.<\/p>\n

The byway connects the Jicarilla Apache Nation in New Mexico, Chimney Rock National Monument, Navajo Lake, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and La Plata County.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a source of revenue for the town as well as the tribe because it will introduce tourists to spots like the casino, the Southern Ute Museum and small businesses around Ignacio,\u201d said Edward Box III, an Ignacio town trustee who is on the Tracks Across Borders Byway Commission.<\/p>\n

The railroad used to stop at a depot just south of town, Box said. Residents of Ignacio and La Boca have passed down an oral history about the depot, including the time it was featured in the film, \u201cAround the World in 80 Days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has a rich history with it,\u201d Box said.<\/p>\n

In addition to supporting the state\u2019s 26 byways, the state\u2019s byway program also supports two All-American roads, 10 national forest scenic byways and two Bureau of Land Management backcountry byways. The statewide system is made up of nearly 2,600 miles of roads through 48 of Colorado\u2019s 64 counties.<\/p>\n

smullane@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

billions in revenue statewide<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[576,950,170,28,198,1235,629],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-48473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-colorado-department-of-transportation","tag-durango","tag-durango-and-silverton-narrow-gauge-railroad-co","tag-headlines","tag-history","tag-ignacio","tag-southern-ute-indian-tribe"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48473"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=48473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}