'Frightening': Livermore residents share US 287 safety concerns, hear results of CDOT study

LIVERMORE — The Colorado Department of Transportation presented its findings on a safety assessment report on U.S. Highway 287 to the Livermore community Wednesday.

The meeting, organized by Larimer County, was a response to a discussion last month in which Livermore residents shared their concerns to Commissioner John Kefalas and county staff.

“Our commitment was that we would do some follow-up meetings. … We are here today because one of the issues that came up at the February 29 meeting was the issue related to highway safety,” Kefalas said.

The CDOT analysis focused on the 30-mile stretch between Ted’s Place (milepost 355) and the Wyoming border (milepost 385) and spanned 2017 through 2021. During that time, 309 crashes were reported. Of those, 78 resulted in injury and eight were fatal.

The study also took into consideration some crashes after the study period, which resulted in six additional deaths. The analysis found the single most common crash type involved wildlife (33%) and most crashes did not involve an intersection (89%).

“Speeding isn’t a type of crash, but it is a factor in the types of crashes,” Stephanie Gramberg, who gave the presentation from CDOT, clarified to the crowd. “So I did look at any of those crashes that involved a vehicle going over 65 miles per hour, and it was about 6% of those crashes.”

Sgt. Chris Padilla, from the Colorado State Patrol, said speeding could be underreported because of the evidence required to show this. Padilla estimates it's a factor for around 80% of crashes.

CDOT told the Coloradoan eight out of the 309 crashes involved impaired driving.

“Currently, some segments of the US 287 corridor have a higher-than-average crash rate compared to other similar rural highways, making it a good candidate for safety improvement,” the study says.

Specific intersections along the corridor were evaluated, and the study assigned a Level of Service of Safety, or LOSS, which ranges from I to IV. A higher value indicates a higher potential for crash reduction.

The intersection with County Road 72 (Own Canyon Road) has the highest LOSS value of IV. County Road 74E (Red Feather Lakes Road) has a LOSS value of III.

The study also performed a cost-benefit analysis and prioritization score for each project. CDOT told the Coloradoan there is approximately $8 million allocated to the study area and that they are “actively searching out other funding opportunities including state and federal grants.”

As for when residents can expect these improvements, CDOT said: “No projects have yet been programmed as the Safety Study has just been finalized within the last three weeks. The early projects would probably be more along the lines of signing and striping improvements. Projects which require right of way purchases or intensive engineering will take longer. The rest of the improvements are really dependent on our ability to attract the funding needed to design and construct these projects. The entire slate of 15 projects will be done as we get funding, which means it will be years before all of them can be done.”

Residents also shared their own experiences with frightening close calls, gave suggestions, and asked the county sheriff and state patrol that attended the event for stronger enforcement of speeding violations.

“If I'm coming from Laramie and turning left, there's only one lane,” Tasha Carr told the Coloradoan after the event.

Carr said drivers behind might not see the turn signals and might not expect to stop suddenly.

“If I'm coming south and stop at 65 miles an hour, they have to come to a full stop while I wait to turn left. And if I see a car coming behind me, I may just keep going and turn around and come back — because it's that dangerous,” Carr said.

“And the accidents don't reflect the number of near misses. Everybody in this room experiences near misses on probably a weekly or monthly basis. That's frightening,” Carr said.

In February, three University of Wyoming students were killed in a crash on U.S. Highway 287. Last year, the Coloradoan reported that a 30-mile stretch on the highway had seen 15 fatalities in the last 11 years, including three in 2023.

Enforcement officers said they are doing the best they can with what they have and encouraged residents to report any incidents.

Motorists can dial *277 to report an aggressive driver to the Colorado State Patrol. The county’s Traffic Safety Unit can also be reached by calling 970-498-5357 to report traffic problems or concerns.

The county said it's planning two more community conversations. Dates haven’t been finalized yet, but the first, possibly in May or June, will cover the Road and Bridge Facility, water association history, agricultural lands and land conservation. The second, in late August, will focus on land use and the development review process.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: CDOT shares results of US Highway 287 safety study