Montrose, Co – Public safety along the U.S. Highway 550 corridor is a high priority for the Colorado Department of Transportation, (CDOT) the City of Montrose and Montrose County, and CDOT is planning an open house April 19th to discuss road safety changes. 

The open house entitled "U.S. 550 Rumble Strips" will be held Thursday, April 19th from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Montrose City Council Chambers located at 107 S. Cascade Ave. 

Members from CDOT met with City Councilors and staff during a March 19th work session to discuss and ultimately improve, safety along U.S. HWY 550 from Otter Rd to the Ouray County line. The consensus from CDOT and City Council that day was an open house would be planned to invite the public to hear and discuss options for improving safety. 

Topics for the April 19th meeting include installing rumble strips along the 9-mile stretch of U.S. 550 from Otter Road to the Ouray County line. CDOT plans to discuss other safety measures for the road and take public comments on any proposed improvements.

During the March 19th meeting CDOT reported that from 2011 to 2015, 194 crashes have been recorded along this stretch of U.S. 550 with five of those accidents resulting in fatal injuries. Nearly 63 percent of those accidents involved wildlife. 

Some other considerations raised by CDOT during the March 19th work session included more passing and turn lanes and wildlife fencing. 

For for information contact Andrew Amend of Stolfus & Associates Inc., at 303.221.2330 or reach Andrew by email at: Andrew@stolfusandassociates.com.